Bonds of Survival
by kelzone
Summary: 8-year-old Robin floats in a boat towards East Blue after escaping a marine ship & lands on Dawn Island. Young Luffy finds her and brings her back to Ace and Sabo. The 4 kids fight together and find new hopes for the future as they go against those who try to break them apart. (Friendship Story - no ships - ages/timeline changed)
1. Chapter 1: Found

**A/N:Hi guys! So I was inspired to write this story while I was watching Luffy's flashbacks of Ace, Sabo, and Luffy as kids. And since Robin is my favorite character in One Piece, how can I not put her in?! So here is a my reimagined version of them as kids! I'm going to be working on this story and my "The Legacy We Live With" story at the same time. Unfortunately that means the chapter updates will be slowed down since I'm doing two at the same time. This is my second story, and I hope I do it justice. Enjoy and tell me what you guys think! Thanks!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

On the outskirts of Dawn Island, a small wooden boat floats towards to shore. In a dirtied and torn purple dress, an 8 year old girl lays still in the tiny vessel she escaped in. She had been floating for many weeks on the harsh ocean waters. Anybody would go insane from being all alone for so long at sea. But, for a little girl that had grown up despised and abhorred by her entire village, isolation was the least of her worries. Not being lost in the ocean, not the freezing cold nights, not even the threat of sea kings imparted any fear in the little girl.

If anything tormented her, it was the immense loss that she had faced in the past months. She had been sent to the sea by the vice-admiral marine who helped massacre her hometown, capture her mom, kill her best friend, and burn down the island she grew up in. Then, it wasn't long after that she was captured by a marine ship. Fortunately, she had been able to escape after the ship had crossed into East Blue. The marines on board weren't aware that their captive had a devil fruit power, so they didn't put any sea stone shackles on her. Plus they didn't consider an 8 year old much of a threat, which made her escape pretty easy. With her Hana Hana no mi, Robin was able to get the keys to her cell, find a small life boat on the side of the ship, and sneak away.

For the first few nights after escaping, all Robin did was hug her knees and cry. Then for weeks after, she would sit there in silence staring at the creaking floor boards of her tiny boat, remembering the images of fire and chaos. She kept thinking back to what Saul said right before he froze to ice, "The sea is vast. Someday, without any doubt, Nakama who will protect you will appear." She didn't really believe Saul's words. Even if she did find nakama, she was sure they would just end up rejecting her in the end after they found out what she could do. It'll be just like what happened with the other kids in Ohara. They'd all come to believe she was a monster or a demon.

She missed Saul. He was her only friend and had accepted her powers. But he was dead. Sometimes she would think about how Saul taught her to laugh when things got rough. "Dereshishishi," Robin would imitate the laugh over and over again to stop herself from shedding more tears. After a while, Robin resolved that crying was useless. There wasn't any point to mourn what has already gone to past. She knew she had to live on because if she didn't, then Saul, her mother, and all the archeologists would have died in vain. _Live… Survive… Find the Rio Poneglyph_. _That's what I must do_. Robin realized these things as she thought about her tragedy in those silent nights drifting over the rocky waves.

Fortunately, her devil fruit ability made it easy for her to navigate the ocean. Robin was able to grow arms on the sides of the vessel and legs in the back to help her steer and paddle the boat in the direction she wanted. This also helped her grab food in the water as she can sprout arm after arm, creating a chain of limbs to reach deep into the water. The only problem was, there wasn't any fire to help cook any fish, so Robin settled for underwater plants and seaweed for her meals. Being a smart girl who had recently become an official Archeologist/Scholar, Robin had read enough books to figure out how to navigate the sea. In that time, Robin built a fortitude for survival that she had never had before. Perhaps it was that will to live that allowed her to evade any ocean threats.

Her love for her mother and Saul helped her endure those hungry and lonely nights as she continued to drift eastward. She didn't know where she was going really. She just knew that she had to get far away as marines would be searching for her now.

The boat hit the sand with a thud, and the sudden stop jolted Robin awake. Looking around, she realized her boat had washed up onto a beach. Quickly, she crawled out of the boat and tried her best to drag the vessel further up land. When the boat was finally secured on the dried land, Robin collapsed onto sand, exhausted from her journey.

* * *

"Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!"

A long arm stretched forward toward the big bear as the 7 year old, Luffy, attempted to catch his breakfast. Unfortunately, the attack didn't land. The young boy lost control as the front part of his forearm began to wiggle violently. His fist hit the ground and bounced backward, hitting Luffy in the cheek.

"Sigh… Luffy just leave this to us okay?" Sabo looked dolefully at the boy who was now rubbing the side of his face. Ace just stood to the side shaking his head at his step brother's folly.

"But I wanted to catch today's food!" Luffy protested

"If we keep letting you try, we'll never get to eat!" Ace yelled, "Now quit being an idiot and let Sabo and me fight the bear"

Crossing his stubby arms, Luffy reluctantly walked off to the side and sat down. He watched as his two older brothers chase after the large bear with their metal rods. The ten year olds jumped up and bashed their rods against the bear's head. A huge red bump grew where the boy's blows landed, but the bear wasn't knocked out yet. Instead, the animal became enraged and started swinging his paws around at the two boys. Sabo and Ace jumped and dodged each swing and wacked the bear's arms, breaking the bone. The fight continued on as the boys ran around trying to weaken the bear with their blows.

Luffy just sat and watched the scene in front, unaware of something big creeping up in the greenery behind him. He didn't hear the footsteps behind him as he was too busy listening to his growling stomach and rubbing his small 7 year old belly in hunger. It wasn't until Luffy felt something slimy drop on his head that he looked up and saw the sharp white teeth that accompanied the large furry orange beast towering over him. At this point, Luffy was scared frozen. Trembling beneath the tiger, Luffy saw that it wasn't looking at him. Rather, it had its fierce eyes set on the bear that Sabo and Ace were still fighting. The older brothers hadn't noticed the beast yet, as it was still lurking by the tall trees. But as the large tiger readied itself to pounce at the bear, Luffy felt he had to warn his brothers of their new company.

"Aaaace! Sa – "

The rubber boy was cut off as the tiger sprung from his spot, jumping over the boy's head. Luffy raised his arms and grabbed onto the tiger's tail and started yelling. Sabo and Ace now looked in terror at the new company that was charging in their direction. In the back, they saw Luffy holding onto the tiger's tail for dear life.

"Luuuffy!" Ace called out.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" Sabo yelled

"AAAAHHHhhh!" The young boy continued to scream

The two brother jumped off of the bear and dodge the tiger's stomping paws. They landed in the dirt and dust was flying everywhere. Getting up they watched as the tiger pounced once more, paws grabbing onto the bear. The beast's tail swung upwards then, and the momentum was too strong for Luffy. Losing his grip on the tail, Luffy was thrown through the air far away from the tiger and his two brothers.

"LUUUFFY!" Ace and Sabo yelled

"AAAAHHHH – *THUD *"

Luffy's screaming was cut short as he landed face first in the sand. Pushing himself up, the young boy began coughing and brushing the sand off his face and his tongue. Standing up he turned to look around him. He was at the very bottom of Mt. Corvo where the forest ends and the coastline begins. _It's going to be a long walk back to the secret base…_ Luffy thought. Turning back, Luffy admired the scene of the ocean that stretched far out into the horizon. He watched the waves rock back and forth, running over the sandy beach. Then he noticed something off on the shore where the waves were coming in. Running toward it, he realized it was a small wooden boat and next to it, laid an unconscious girl.

Luffy had never really spoke to a girl before, unless you counted Makino and Dadan. But he wouldn't really consider Dadan a girl, more like an old hag. The girl on the beach looked like she was sleeping and the waves were moving closer and closer to her. Luffy thought he should wake her before the waves pulled her into the water, but he seemed unsure on how to do it. Taking a stick, he poked her arm several times. No response.

"Oi, wake up" The girl continued to lay there.

"OOooiii!" Luffy tried again. Still nothing.

Figuring that she wasn't going to wake, Luffy resolved to bring the girl with him. He wasn't going to leave her there to be eaten up by the ocean. But first, he pushed her tiny boat further up shore away from the incoming waves. Then, taking a HUGE leaf, he came back and rolled the girl onto the leaf. He began to tug and drag the leaf with the girl on it towards the forest. Luffy was having a pretty difficult time hauling the unconscious girl. He was only 7 after all, and his arms were stubby and weak. Luckily, the girl was small too, and Luffy was able to manage.

* * *

"Which way did that idiot get thrown?"

Ace was pretty aggravated at this point. They had lost their meal to a giant tiger, and Luffy went and got himself tossed away to Timbuktu.

"I think it's this way" Sabo pointed. "Let's just find Luffy and we can catch some fish later, okay?"

The blond boy tried his best to keep Ace calm. But nothing he did really worked, being that Ace was pretty short tempered. On top of that, he didn't have anything to eat since the night before. Who wouldn't be cranky walking around in the woods on an empty stomach. The boys continued their journey down the side of the mountain's forest looking for their little brother.

"Hey Ace, isn't that Luffy right there?"

Sabo pointed towards a small figure lying on his back and began to run. When the boys got there, they found Luffy sweating and panting as he laid down exhausted. Next to him was a sleeping girl on a gigantic leaf.

"Luffy! Are you okay? What happened?" Sabo addressed the tired boy.

"And who is that?" Ace pointed to the sleeping figure.

"Ace! Sabo! I found you guys!" Luffy seemed to have regained his energy at the sight of his big brothers.

"Ummm… Luffy… Why are you dragging around a girl in a big leaf?" Sabo now went and looked at who Ace was talking about. Both brothers looked at the 7 year old in confusion.

"Oh! Her! Umm… I don't know who she is. I just found her on the beach after I lost you guys earlier. I tried to wake her up, but it didn't work. So I just brought her with me" Luffy grinned at his big brothers.

"Exactly where did you plan on taking her?" Ace asked

"To the base"

"You were going to bring a stranger to our secret base!? Are you an idiot?!" Ace knocked Luffy in the head

"OW!" Luffy began rubbing the bump Ace made. "Where else was I suppose to take her?"

"I don't know! But the base is suppose to be a secret! Don't try to bring anybody there!" Ace yelled

"Okay guys! Stop fighting!" Sabo tried to intervene.

Then a tirade of comebacks and insults began as the three fought about the strange girl lying next to them. They were so focused on each other, they hadn't even noticed the girl stirring on the ground.

* * *

The exhaustion hadn't worn off yet, but the loud noise from the yelling brought Robin out of her slumber. Looking up and rubbing her eyes, Robin realized she was surrounded by three young boys who seemed to be in a heated debate. It had been months since she had heard the voice of another human being and with the volume up so high, Robin's head hurt at the new sounds. She thought back to the kids in Ohara, and instantly she was alert. The kids she had grown up with called her names and sometimes even ganged up on her and tried to beat her up. Everyone wanted to taunt the girl with the freaky powers. They called her a Demon. Remembering these things, Robin knew she had to defend herself from these 3 new threats. She had thought about running off since it didn't seem like the 3 boys had noticed her yet, but her legs felt weak from the months at sea and she didn't know if she could run fast enough. The best thing to do was to use her devil fruit powers on them.

As Robin stood up, she heard the boy with blond hair speak.

"Guys! She's awake!"

Three faces now stared at her. Robin felt panicked at what they would do. Without thinking, she summoned a phantom arm next to the blond boy and grabbed the metal rod he was holding. Sabo was shocked to see an arm come out of the tree he was standing next to and dropped his weapon in shock. Robin felt slightly relieved to have disarmed the boy. She didn't know why they had those but thought maybe they were going to use the metal rods to hit her with.

"SUGOI! Did you see that Sabo?" the kid wearing a straw hat had stars in his eyes as he watched the phantom arm hold up the blond kid's, who Robin now knew as Sabo, metal rod in between them and Robin.

"St-stay away from me!" Robin yelled.

"Ho-How did you…?" Sabo looked astonished. Ace's eyes widened slightly arching his eyebrows in surprise.

Robin saw that the freckled face boy with dark hair also had a metal rod. Summoning another phantom arm from a rock, she tried to take it. But the boy was too fast for her. He took the shaft and slammed it against her hand whacking the arm away. The arm disappeared into petals, and the girl cried out from the pain and coiled over hugging her arm.

"Ace! What did you do?" Sabo yelled at his brother as he looked at the girl's hunched form. "Are you okay?"

Tears fell from Robin's face as she looked at her arm. There was a big bruise and it was turning purple.

"There was a freaky arm! What else was I suppose to do? Let it take my weapon?!" Ace yelled at Sabo back.

 _He said 'freaky'_ Robin thought. The tears dripped down onto the dirt. _Stop crying!_ Robin mentally yelled at herself. _You've been called freaky before. It's no big deal… You should be use to it._ Deciding she had to get out of there, Robin turned away from the 3 boys and started running. She held onto her throbbing arm as she hurried off.

"Wait! Come back!" Sabo and Luffy shouted. Robin ignored them and continued running deep into the woods.

"Ace! You scared her off!" Luffy grumbled. "I wanted to see more of her cool arms!"

"Her arms freaked me out!" Ace argued

"My stretchy arms don't freak you out!" Luffy said

"Are you sure it's the arms that freak you out Ace? Or are you freak out cause she's a girl?" Sabo commented

Ace didn't respond but he looked angry.

"Shishishi! Ace is nervous!" Luffy laugh. "He's even turning red!"

"Shut up!" Ace yelled. Then he struck Luffy's head again, creating another bump on top of the first bump from earlier. Luffy sat on the ground rubbing his skull, regretting laughing at his older brother.

"Sigh… I'm going to look for her" Sabo said. "You guys go look for food. I'll meet you back at the base"

"Wait. You're not going to bring her to our _secret_ base, are you?" Ace asked

"I don't see any harm in it" Sabo replied

"Ugh! Its called 'secret' for a reason"

"She's just a girl Ace" Sabo reasoned. "Don't get so worked up just cause you've never seen one before"

"Shi shi shi" Luffy snickered

"Fine! Just let a stranger in. Let's not even consider she might tell everyone about our secret hideout!"

"Luffy said he found her washed up on the beach. She probably doesn't know anybody on the island. Look, I'm leaving now, see you guys later" Sabo waved to his brothers, and turned to find the girl with the strange power.

"Let's go Luffy. We're going fishing"

"Yosh! FOOOD!"

* * *

A/N: I changed the One Piece timeline a little bit to fit the story. Robin is 8, Luffy is 7, Ace/Sabo are 10.


	2. Chapter 2: Kindness

**A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews on Chapter 1 of this story. I got more fav/follows than I thought I would get, so thank you! I'm not sure where I want to take this story yet and I don't know how in-character I can make everyone. But I'll try my best. There may be some OOC stuff as the story continues.**

 **Response to reviewers: (For those that I couldn't respond via message)**

 **To Lostdog200:** Interesting idea about Robin saving Sabo. I'll have to think about it a little bit. I would like Sabo to survive too, but I don't know how close to the canon I want to make it. Also, yes I have read the fanfic, Alter Tides. It was about Luffy being present for the Ohara incident, yes? I thought it was a cute fic, and I guess it makes a nice counterpart to Robin being here with Ace, Sabo, and Luffy.

 **To Guest** : Here are some of the answers to your questions about the choices I made in chapter 1.

1) I know in the show Robin is suppose to be older than all three of the boys. For this story, I changed the timeline a bit so that her age is 8, Luffy's is 7, and Sabo&Ace are 10. Yes, you guess it right - It's really just so I can write this story with them as somewhat the same age. Everything would be quite different if I made Robin a decade older than Luffy and I wanted to write their interactions as children. :)

2) You're right about how difficult it would be for Robin to float from Ohara to Dawn island given how the One Piece world was made with the Grand Line and the Red Line in between the two sides. At the time, I wasn't thinking much of it and just sort of wrote without considering the One Piece map. But seeing that this is a pretty big plot hole, I went back and tweaked it a bit. I hope that it'll make the story flow a little bit better now.

3) I didn't mean that Luffy "won't" interact with girls. I think I said, he just never really did. Luffy didn't really have any other friends, which was why he chased after Ace all the time. Makino and Dadan were the females that showed up the most in Luffy's childhood, so that's why I mentioned only them.

4) When I said that "Ace was naturally short tempered" I didn't mean that his temper was an innate characteristic. I guess I should have used a different word other than naturally. I went back and took out the word since it seems to be sending out the wrong impression. But yes, you're right that his short temper or his poor communication skills was due to the issues with his neglected childhood, as he is definitely more polite and mature when he's older.

 **To All the other Reviewers:** Thanks for commenting! And thank you for your encouragements!

and here is Chapter 2!

 _Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece_

* * *

Chapter 2: Kindness

Robin ran as fast as she could away from the boys, but all that time she spent at sea made her knees weak and she wasn't use to being on land yet. They wobbled as she ran and soon enough, they gave out. Robin scraped her knees and the palms of her hand, as she fell to the ground. Propping herself up on the dirt, she bit her lip as she stared at the blurry ground through her tears.

"Hey, are you okay?" A voice came from behind her.

Robin realized it was the blond kid, Sabo. She knew she couldn't run anymore. Her legs were short and tired. She noticed that the other two boys weren't with him. Robin switched her position to sit on the ground and hugged her scraped knees to her chest. Wiping the tears from her face with the un-bruised arm, she tried not to look at the boy. She didn't respond to his question either. Putting his metal rod down, Sabo sat down next to her. He wanted to show her he wasn't a threat.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let's start over. I'm Sabo"

Robin still didn't respond, so Sabo continued.

"I saw you coil over when Ace hit one of those arms. Did it hurt you?"

Robin looked down at her bruised arm. Sabo saw that it was changing to a dark color.

"I'm sorry about Ace. He was just a little shocked."

Then she remembered how Ace called her power 'freaky'. Her expression became sadder as she pursed her lips together trying not to cry. Sabo furrowed his eyebrows at this, but said nothing.

"Are you going to call me a freak too?" Robin spoke softly, keeping her eyes casted downward.

"No. Why would I do that?"

"Because I am one…" Robin looked straight at him now and he saw that her blue eyes were stained with tears.

"You don't look that freaky to me"

"You saw what I did…" Robin sniffled

"I think that was pretty cool. How were you able to do that thing with your hands? Did you eat a devil fruit?"

Robin couldn't understand how this kid could still be talking to her. All the other kids at Ohara ran away whenever she used her powers. But, this boy, Sabo, just sat there and spoke to her as if she was a completely normal person. All Robin could do was stare at him, unsure of how to respond, as this has never happened to her before.

Sabo tilted his head sideways and gave her the friendliest smiled he could muster up. _This girl seems okay. But, she seems really self conscious. Maybe I shouldn't have asked about the devil fruit thing that quickly. She probably hasn't seen what Luffy can do yet, and she looks really lost…_

"Maybe I shouldn't have asked about that… How about you tell me your name first."

"I'm… Robin"

"Well Robin, I can tell you're having a pretty weird day. I mean, you were dragged around the forest in a leaf without even knowing it. Then you woke up to three strangers yelling at each other. You're probably really confused."

It's true. Other than remembering she had landed on some secluded beach, Robin had no recollection of anything else that occurred that day, having passed out from exhaustion.

"It's getting kind of late. C'mon"

Taking Robin's hand, he pulled her up and started walking. Robin didn't resist, seeing that she had no where else to go. Plus, he had been nice to her so far. So she followed Sabo's lead.

* * *

"We're almost there"

Sabo walked ahead of her through a muster of dangling leaves. Pushing aside the leaves, Robin saw that Sabo had stopped in front of a large tree. Looking up, she saw that there was a little base built into the tree and a ladder that ran further up the trunk to what looked like a crow's nest that would normally be seen on a pirate ship. A flag blew in the wind with the letters ASL on it.

 _Wow,_ Robin thought. She had never been in a tree house before.

"Hey guys, we're back!"

Sabo's shout brought Robin's attention to the base of the tree. To the right, in a small clearing, was a campfire. Surrounding the flames were the two boys from earlier, whom Robin remembered as Ace and Luffy. Sabo had already made it to the two boys.

"Oooii! Handy girl!" Luffy started waving at her wildly.

"Her name is Robin, Luffy" Sabo corrected him.

Hesitantly, Robin walked over to them. She sat down on the closest log to her on Luffy's right. Luffy jumped up and down in his seat with enthusiasm and was smiling from ear to ear. Sabo took a seat on the other side of Robin. Ace just continued to fry his fish, ignoring the new presence, not even taking a glance at the girl.

"Here, have some fish" Sabo handed her a fried fish stuck to a stick

The scent of cooked fish meat made Robin's tummy growl. She barely ate anything in the last couple of weeks as she drifted over the East Blue waters. Her only source of food had been the underwater plants and there wasn't much of it. Also, the family she used to live with on Ohara barely fed her, and she was forced to find her own food and live off scraps.

Taking the fish from Sabo, Robin nodded her head in thanks. Then she began to munch down on the fish rapidly, cherishing every bite.

"Wow, you must be really hungry. But you're still not as bad at Luffy." Sabo joked

Luffy pushed three large fish into his mouth, causing his cheeks to stretch 3 times the size of his head.

"Sorry, I guess it's been awhile since I ate anything" Robin apologized

"That's okay. Take as much as you want"

"Oi. Don't just go giving away our food like that. She didn't catch any of it. And she tried to attack us" Ace interceded.

"It's fine. Don't mind Ace." Sabo shot Ace a look. Ace got up and walked to the side away from the group. He sat down, leaned his back against the tree trunk and ate his fish.

"Sigh… Sorry bout that" Sabo apologized

"It's okay. He's right. I don't deserve any of this." Robin motioned to the food.

At this point, Luffy was too excited about the newcomer to continue eating.

"Robin! Can you do that thing you did earlier where you made hands grow out of nowhere?!" Luffy pleaded.

"Uh…." Robin hesitated. _He wants to see my powers?_

"Please!" Luffy grinned

Robin was stunned that this little boy actually wanted her to demonstrate her 'freaky' ability. Usually, she wouldn't use them unless she wanted to scare away the kids who were taunting her. But, seeing his enthusiasm, Robin decided to show him. The little boy's face was just too cute to turn down. Crossing her arms into an x shape and concentrating, Robin made an arm sprout from a thick branch above Ace's head. The phantom arm plucked an apple from the tree and tossed it towards the three kids by the fire. Sabo caught the fruit, and took a bite out of it.

"SUGOI!" Luffy jumped up and down excitedly

"I agree. That was pretty cool." Sabo said

Ace sneered. "It's not that cool. But it's more useful than your powers, Luffy."

"MY POWER IS SUPER USEFUL! I just have to train more! You'll see!" Luffy shouted.

"You can't even hurt a fly!" Ace jeered

"You have really good control over your power Robin. Luffy can learn something from you." Sabo commented

Robin looked at all of them with a confused expression. _Did they say… Luffy has powers?_

"Oh yeah. That's what I wanted to show you" Sabo grinned at her. "Hey Luffy, why don't you show her that attack you've been working on?"

"Oh yeah! Robin watch this!"

Luffy stood up and started twisting his little right arm around in circles.

"Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!"

Robin watched in amazement as the little boy's arm stretched several feet in front of them. His punch was aiming for… Ace's head! Ace seem unconcerned and didn't even look up at the fist that was coming at him. Robin was about to call for Ace to watch out, but then the stretched arm started to wiggle uncontrollably. And… SNAP! The arm bounce backwards and hit Luffy in the face, causing him to spin around and fall over.

"Heh, see. You can't even hit straight" Ace folded his arms smugly

"Grrrr!" Luffy growled at Ace

"Can you do attacks too, Robin?" Sabo asked

Robin stiffened at the question. She thought back to the marine ship she had escaped from. After she had stolen the key to her cell with her power, she had to get past the guard who had a gun. Robin had been so terrified of what the marines would do to her, all she could think about was escaping. She had never used her power to cause anyone harm besides to scare away mean kids or knock them in the head so they'll stop bothering her. But being held captive felt like a life and death situation. Robin was so scared of what would happen to her if she stayed on the ship, she resolved to do something she'd regret. Concentrating really hard, closing her eyes, and turning her head away, Robin sprouted phantom arms and snapped the neck of the guard. By the time she opened her eyes, she had already ran past the dead marine. She had never attacked anyone before. Her powers were weird and freaky, but Robin never really believed that her ability made her a monster. No, but killing… She had taken the life of another person. That's what made her a REAL monster…

"Robin?"

"Huh?" Robin snapped back to reality, and saw that the three boys were staring at her.

"Are you okay?" Luffy tilted his head looking at her

"You're probably tired, huh?" Sabo said. "You can stay here for the night."

Ace didn't look pleased about Sabo offering to let the girl stay the night. But he said nothing. He just climbed up the tree to their base and went inside.

Robin nodded and mumbled a soft, "Arigato, Sabo-san"

"Yay! Sleepover!" Luffy grinned

* * *

Robin watched the moon above her and listened to the soft snoring coming from inside the tree house. The three boys were fast asleep, wrapped in their white blankets. Robin pulled the blanket Sabo gave her tightly around her shoulders, as she sat out on the ledge by the doorway of the tree house. Although she'd had a long journey, Robin couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was swirling with too many thoughts. She look back at the sleeping boys and smiled sadly.

 _I'm surprised to find someone else in the world with a devil fruit power too._ Robin thought of Luffy and his stretchy arms. She giggled softly to herself, remembering how the boy acted during dinner. _These are the first kids that had ever been nice to me and they're really… interesting. Sabo seems really caring, Luffy is funny, and Ace… well Ace doesn't seem to trust me._ Robin sighed to herself. _It's probably good that he doesn't, considering what I've done… They talk about doing attacks and fighting like a game. But, they don't look like they've ever killed anyone before. They probably only use those metal sticks to hunt for food. Unlike me… They'll reject me if they found out I had murdered an actual person. Someone like me doesn't deserve their kindness…_

Robin couldn't shake these pitiful thoughts. Sure, she had only done what she did because her life was threatened, but the guilt was still there. Trying not to dwell on it anymore, Robin thought about what she would do in the morning.

* * *

As daylight shined through the window into the secret base, Luffy sat up and stretched his arms in the air. Yawning, the little boy rubbed his tired eyes. Looking around, he realized Robin was gone. Sticking his head out the window, he tried to see if he could find her. But she wasn't at the bottom of the tree either. Instead, Luffy saw 3 skewers sticking out of the ground with variety of small animals on each stick and steam rising from them. The scent of cooked meat filled his nose, exciting the young boy.

"Ooooiii! Wake up! Ace! Sabo!"

The older brothers woke to Luffy's shouting. Sitting up, Sabo and Ace saw their annoying little brother jumping up and down enthusiastically through their groggy eyes.

"Luffy what are you so excited about this early in the morning?" Sabo asked

"C'mon! We have to eat it before it gets cold!"

With that, Luffy disappeared from view. He climbed down from the tree, leaving Ace and Sabo confused.

"What is he talking about?" Ace asked

Sabo stuck his head out the window and saw what Luffy had meant. When the two brothers got to the bottom of the tree, Luffy was finishing up his second cooked squirrel.

"Where did this meat come from?" Ace asked as he took one of the remaining two sticks and began munching on the rabbit stuck on the skewer.

"There's a note!" Sabo removed the piece of paper that was pinned on top of his skewer of meat. "It says, 'Thank you for your kindness last night. I know I didn't deserve any of it. So, I hope you'll enjoy the meal. –Robin'"

"Sugoi! Robin got all this for us?!" Luffy said

"Wow… She must have caught all these animals by herself" Sabo sounded impressed. Having seen what a soft and reserved girl Robin was yesterday, Sabo wouldn't have thought she had any experience with hunting or surviving in the woods.

"The little girl can hunt… that's surprising," Ace commented.

"I wonder where she is now" Sabo looked around. "Why didn't she stay to eat with us?"

"I'm sure Robin will come back. She likes us right?!" Luffy smiled

"I think so," Sabo said, as he took his seat and started on his meal.

"Since we have breakfast taken care of for us, let's spend the day training." Ace suggested.

"Should we spar with each other or pick a beast to beat today?" Sabo asked

"I always win when I fight you guys. I want a real challenge!"

"No. You mostly win. You only beat me by 2 wins last time. But I'm going to catch up!" Sabo stated confidently

"I'm going to catch up too!" Luffy pumped his fists in the air

"Yeah right!" Ace said

"I will! You'll see! Today, I'm going to beat a wolf!" Luffy yelled

"Are you sure you want to take on a wolf, Luffy? Maybe you should get a little stronger first" Sabo suggested

"Yes I'm sure!"

"Well, then I guess we've picked our opponent for the day"

The three finished the last of the meat and headed out to find a wolf.

* * *

Robin treaded downhill through the forest. She figured that the beach had to be at the bottom of this enormous mountain, so after cooking the boy's thank-you breakfast, Robin began her journey back to the boat she had arrived in. It was important that she retrieve an item that was in the boat. It was the single thing that she was able to save before Ohara burned down, and Robin hoped that it was still where she left it.

It wasn't long until Robin could see the sand and ocean water. Running out onto the clear beach, her eyes scanned for the vessel. She saw that it was farther up the shore than she had remembered pulling it. She figured Luffy must have dragged it up higher to keep the waves from pulling it back into the water. _That's pretty thoughtful of him,_ Robin thought.

Robin ran to the vessel and jumped right in. Looking under the single wooden seat in the tiny boat, she found what she was looking for. She hugged the book to her chest. It was the last surviving piece of literature from Ohara. It wasn't any special piece of text really. There wasn't any ancient writing or illegal information written in it. Rather, it was just a simple storybook filled with tales of adventure. But, even if it didn't have anything to do with the history Robin wished to learn about, Robin treasured this book, as well as what was inside it. Flipping the book open, Robin pulled out a folded piece of paper. _It's still in here… Good._

Now that Robin got what she needed, she figured she should see if the boys had found the meal she had prepared. Putting the paper back in between the pages, Robin hugged the book to her chest, and made her way back into the forest.

* * *

Luffy, Sabo, and Ace stood on the branch of a tree as they looked down at their chosen target. A big, grey wolf lounged lazily at the bottom unaware of the three boys.

"This one's pretty big" Sabo commented "Are you sure you want to try, Luf – "

"Yosh!"

Luffy had already jumped off of the branch. Regrettably, the rubber boy hadn't quite thought out how he was going to attack yet. He fumbled for a tactic as he fell, but before he knew it, it was already too late. He landed on the wolf's head and slid right off.

Ace face-palmed.

"Ugh. Does he ever think before he acts?!" Ace complained

"We need to help him! Let's go Ace!"

The two brother's jumped down from the branch. Unfortunately, due of Luffy's mistake, the large wolf was now alert. The two boys lost the element of surprise and were unable to strike the beast. The wolf, with its enormous paw, knocked the 10 year olds far away to the side. Then setting his sights on Luffy, the wolf began to growl. The beast hovered over the rubber boy, who was now frozen in fear. Lifting its paw up, the wolf was ready to strike the boy.

"LUFFY!" Ace and Sabo exclaimed from a distance

Luffy squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head with his hands, bracing himself for the attack. But, it never came. Instead, he felt two hands push him away, and he rolled off to the right. Then there was a sound of tearing flesh and a scream.

Luffy pushed himself up onto all fours and opened his eyes. There, a few feet away from him, was Robin. _W-why is Robin here?!_ It took him a second to realize that she was the one who had pushed him out of the way. In doing so, she became victim to the wolf's attack. It's big, sharp claws had slashed the little girl's body, slicing through her skin in one fierce motion. Her clothes were torn and covered in her blood.

"ROOOBIN!" the little boy screamed.

Luffy stared at Robin's unmoving form. Then, he saw his brothers running towards the wolf. With their metal sticks, Ace and Sabo began their attack. As usual, Ace went straight for the wolf's head, banging his metal rod against the beast's temple. Sabo ran underneath the wolf while it was distracted with Ace, and knocked his weapon against the wolf's hind legs and broke its joints. After a few more hits, the wolf laid turned over and unconscious.

Sabo and Ace were panting at the end. Catching their breath, they ran over to where Robin laid. Luffy was there now and he was crying loudly.

Sabo and Ace gasped. They were taken aback when they saw the amount of blood that was spilling from slashes on Robin's body.

"She's hurt bad," Sabo stated darkly

"Ro-Robin… Ss-sa-saved… me" Luffy could barely get the words out through his sobs.

"We need to get help" Sabo said

"Help get her on my back" Ace ordered. "I'm the fastest. I'll carry her to Dadan's. They'll help her"

Sabo and Luffy quickly helped prop Robin onto Ace's back. As the three began to run in the direction toward Dadan's cabin, Sabo tripped over something. Getting up, he realized it was a book. _What is a book doing out here?_ Picking the book up, Sabo tucked it under his blue coat and ran to catch up with Ace and Luffy.

Ace had only one thought as he ran carrying injured girl.

 _You saved my little brother's life, Robin… I'm not going to let you die!_

* * *

 **A/N: And there you go! The end of Chapter 2. I realized this chapter had a lot more Sabo then I had expected. And yay! Ace might finally warm up to Robin a bit since she saved Luffy's life! Stay tuned for Chapter 3 for Dadan's reaction to Robin!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Poster

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's Chapter 3! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

Chapter 3: The Poster

"Help!"

The incessant banging of fists against the wooden door brought a groggy Dogra out of his nap.

"Sigh… It's the boys again. What do they want?"

Dogra opened a crack in the doorway. He looked at anxious faces and his eyes widened at the head and arms dangling over Ace's shoulder.

"Boss!" Dogra called behind him. Loud stomping could be heard as Dadan made her way to the short bald man. The opening widened as the leader of the mountain bandits approached.

"What do you brats…" Dadan's words faded as she counted the number of children in front of her. _1,2,3….4?!_

"EEEHHHH?! Where did this one come from?!" Dadan pointed to the little girl on Ace's back.

"Dadan! Please, she needs help!" Sabo begged.

"This isn't a nursery! I can't be taking in more rugrats!" Dadan yelled at the boys, but concern was written on her face as she looked at the unconscious little girl.

"Dadan! She saved Luffy's life."

Ace fixed a firm look at Dadan. The bandit eyed him back challengingly. Then, saying nothing, Dadan moved out of the way and the boys ran into the cabin.

"Put her in your old room upstairs," Dadan called after them.

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy ran up the stairs while Dogra grabbed Magra from the back. Ace set Robin down on a spare sleeping mat that Sabo grabbed from the closet. Dogra and Magra came in carrying bandages and other medical supplies.

"You three should wait outside," Magra suggested.

"Will she be okay?" Sabo asked

"Her wounds are deep, but treatable," Magra answered. "Now go outside."

The three boys nodded and left the room, sliding the door closed behind them. They made their way down the stairs and out the door. Sitting on the steps at the front, the three boys waited.

"I hope Robin will be okay," Luffy said.

"I wasn't expecting her to just show up out of nowhere and jump in front of a wolf! What was she thinking?" Ace had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot impatiently.

"She was thinking of saving our brother, Ace" Sabo sat on the ground flipping through a book.

"What are you doing" Ace looked irritatingly at Sabo.

"It's called a book. I'm just looking through it"

"Why do you even have that?"

"I found it on the way to Dadan's. I think it belongs to Robin."

"What's in it?" Luffy asked

"Just a bunch of stories about people going on adventures"

"Sugoi! Like pirates and stuff?!"

Sabo nodded to his little brother.

"Why waste your time reading about other people's adventures? We can have our own when we go out to the sea."

Ace turned away from them and looked out over the hill, his mind uneasy and his shoulders tense. He'd hate to admit it, but he was worried about Robin. Luffy, having lost interest in Sabo's book, sat there fumbling with his straw hat with his fingers. Sabo continued to flip through the pages trying to keep himself distracted. He came across a piece of paper stuck in between the flaps. Unfolding it, Sabo looked at what the paper had on there. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _Why would Robin have this?_

"Hey brats!" Dadan opened the door.

"How's Robin?"

"She's still unconscious. You play too rough! She looked about dead when you brought her here!"

"It's not our fault! We didn't know she was going to be there!" Ace argued.

"Well her clothes are all torn up. Make yourselves useful and go get her something to change into when she wakes up."

"Don't you have any clothes for her?" Ace did not want to be sent on an errand. Especially, if it's to get girl clothes…

"I'M A MOUNTAIN BANDIT! DOES IT LOOK LIKE I HAVE LITTLE GIRL CLOTHES LYING AROUND HERE?!"

Dadan grabbed the three boys by the back collar of their shirts and kicked them towards the road. Rubbing their behinds over Dadan's shoeprint, the three decided to go to Windmill to find Makino. They remember she had given them clothes the last time she visited, so they figured she might have something for Robin too.

* * *

(At Makino's Bar)

"Umm…"

Makino tried to wrap her mind around what Luffy had just her asked for. She had gotten plenty of little boys' clothing and was planning on making a trip up Mt. Corvo to give them to the boys later this week. But, now Luffy, Sabo, and Ace are sitting on the high stools in her bar and asking for… _dresses_? Tilting her head to the side, Makino stared at the 7 year old blankly.

"You want a _dress?"_

"Yep!" Luffy nodded wearing his naïve smile.

"Do you have any we can take with us, Makino? Preferably in a smaller size? Like for someone around our age," Sabo asked

Makino moved her confused eyes over to Sabo and scratched the back of her head. _Are they going to w-_

"It's not for us! " Ace could tell what was going on in Makino's mind and hastily sought to eradicate it. "They're for someone else."

"Ooooh! Of course! Umm…. For a girl?" Makino exhaled in relief.

"Yeah! It's for Robin!" Luffy said

"Aw, you boys made a new friend! Will I get to meet her?"

"She's at Dadan's right now" Sabo said

"So whose little girlfriend is she?"

Three blank faces stared at Makino. Then in unison…

"NOBODY's!" the boys yelled at the motherly bar owner.

"We're going to be pirates, Makino!" said Sabo

"Pirates don't get tied down by any _girlfriend,"_ Ace sneered

"Yeah!" Luffy nodded in agreement with his brothers.

"Fufufufu. I see." Makino giggled. "Well, your friend can have some of my old clothes. I saved them from when I was a little girl."

Makino left and went to the back of the bar. She returned after a few minutes and handed Luffy a large brown sack.

"I hope these will fit" Makino said

"Thanks Makino!" The boys waved goodbye as they headed out of the bar.

"Bye-bye boys!"

The boys were almost at the village border when they saw a messenger bird fly down. The villagers gathered to receive their mail and check up on the news. Ace ran to the group and squeezed through the tall adults. After finding what he was looking for, Ace crawled in between the legs of the adults and left the crowd holding a bundle of papers.

"Got it!"

Ace returned and walked with Sabo and Luffy looking at the papers in his hand.

"What did you get, Ace?" Luffy asked

"Those are bounty posters, Luffy. The government sends out new ones or updates them according to how dangerous a criminal or pirate becomes," Sabo explained.

"And since I'm planning to go out to the sea, I have to know who I'm up against. I'm going to become stronger than anybody in these posters. And I'll have the highest bounty!" Ace said as he flipped through each picture, name, and bounty amount. He stopped in his tracks when he laid eyes on the last poster in the pile and dropped the rest on the ground.

"What's wrong Ace?" Sabo asked

Ace was still staring at the paper in his hand. He closed his eyes and stuck out his arm to show Sabo and Luffy what was on the paper.

"NAAAAANI?!" the two boys exclaimed in shock

"But that's…"

Sabo grabbed the poster out of Ace's hand. There on the picture was Robin with her cut bangs and blue eyes, looking away to the side with an unreadable expression. She was even wearing the same purple dress she had when Luffy found her on the beach. Underneath the picture, the poster read, ' _Dead or Alive – Nico Robin – B79,000,000'._

" _79,000,000 BELI_?!" Sabo exclaimed.

"Woah! Sugoi! That's a high bounty!" Luffy said.

"How the heck did that little girl get a bounty like that!?" Ace was pretty aggravated by this news.

"Do you guys think she's a pirate?" Luffy asked

"She doesn't look like one… She's not even 10 yet," Sabo said. "Either way, she must have done something pretty bad for them to put this kind of bounty on her."

"I say we interrogate her when we get back" Ace said

"Calm down, Ace. You don't have to get angry just because she has a bounty before you do" Sabo said

"Stop trying to protect her, Sabo. She might look like an innocent little girl, but it's obvious she's more than that. I just want to know what it is she did to get such a high bounty. " Ace retaliated

"Psssssst! I think Ace is jealous" Luffy whispered to Sabo

"I heard that!" Ace yelled and hit his little brother on the top of the head

"Ow!"

"Stop fighting! Let's just get back to Dadan's. We can figure out what to do later." Sabo suggested.

Sabo looked hard at the poster for a few more seconds before folding it up and putting it in his coat pocket. They walked back in silence, all wondering just who this girl really is.

* * *

"Boss! She's waking up!"

Robin's head throbbed. Her eyelids fluttered open to a blurred ceiling. A man with a bald head came into view and looked down at her. Turning her head to the right, she saw another taller man with a bulky stature and brown sideburns. A large woman with orange curly hair stood at the doorway. The blanket that was draped over Robin fell off as she sat up. Hissing in pain, she grabbed her head trying to remember what happened. She had been walking back from her little boat and saw Luffy fall from a tree in a distance and land on a wolf. Before she knew it, she was running to him and pushing him out of harms way. After feeling the searing pain of the wolf's claws, she blacked out. Robin looked down and saw the bandages around her body. Then she looked around at the three new faces. _Where am I? Where's Luffy, Sabo, and Ace?_

"The brats brought you here." Dadan said, noting the confusion on Robin's face.

 _Brats?_ Robin thought. "Do you mean Luffy, Sabo, and Ace? Is Luffy okay?"

The anxious tone in Robin's voice made Dadan quirk an eyebrow.

"Luffy's fine. The boys aren't here right now. I sent them on an errand." Dadan answered.

"Here, have some water." Magra, the broader man offered Robin a cup, which Robin accepted.

"Um… Where am I exactly?"

"You are in a cabin. This is the home of the mountain bandits in this area. And I'm the boss, Dadan." Dadan spoke with her arms crossed looking down at Robin. "Essentially, you're in a criminal's house. So don't think that this means you can stay here. I'm not taking in anymore little brats! Got it?"

Robin slowly got up and gave Dadan a low bow. Then she said, "I understand. Thank you for your hospitality."

Not expecting the small gesture of gratitude, Dadan nearly fell over backwards. _Ehh? Did she just thank me? This brat is actually…. polite._ Dadan thought to herself for a moment. _How did this sweet girl get mixed up with those little monsters?_

"So what's your name?" Dogra asked

"I'm Robin"

* * *

"We have to make up our mind about this girl. She's dangerous enough for the government to give her a bounty and she knows about our base. Who knows what she could do." Ace stood with his back to Dadan's door facing Sabo and Luffy.

"Let's just find out why the government is after her first. But, we can't just barge in and demand answers." Sabo reasoned. "And let's not forget she did save Luffy's life and she probably needs some recovery time."

"Fine," Ace relented to wait.

"Okay. So we all agree not to say anything about what we found out today until later when the time is right?"

Ace and Luffy nodded.

"Remember guys, act normal." Sabo said.

Ace proceeded to open the door to the cabin. They found Robin and Dadan seated together at a table with two cups of hot tea in front of them. Pochi lied happily on his back next to Robin wagging his tail, letting her rub and scratch his belly. Magra and Dogra stood up and greeted the boys as they came in.

"Robin, you're awake!" Sabo walked in happily. He was glad to see that she was okay.

"Thanks for saving my brother's life. And uh…. I'm glad you didn't die." Ace tried to stand tall and keep his cool. He wanted to pretend he hadn't been all that worried, but relief was written all over his face.

"Robin! I'm so glad you're awake! Now you can tell me if you're a pirate!" Luffy exclaimed.

"EEEHHH?!" Ace and Sabo both ran to Luffy and tried to cover his mouth with their hands. Luffy struggled to push their hands away and his next few sentences sounded muffled and almost incomprehensible through their fingers.

"Baka! Why would you ask that?!" Ace yelled

"Luffy! We agreed not to say anything yet!" Sabo said

"Bu-… I wannnu… kno-! Sto-.. it…. Guys!" Luffy tried to speak in between his brothers' attempts to silence him.

Robin tilted her head at their odd behavior. Dadan also raised an eyebrow at the wrestling boys.

"Oi! Did you brats bring back the clothes?"

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" Sabo grabbed the bag Luffy was holding and tossed it to Robin. Undoing the knot at the top, Robin looked inside and saw a bunch of dresses. _They got these for me?_ For the first time since Robin had been on the island, she smiled.

"You can go upstairs and change," Dadan said.

Dadan watched as Robin ran up the stairs. Then turning her attention back to the three boys that were still wrestling on the ground, she got up. With her left arm, she grabbed Luffy by his hat. With her right arm, she picked up Ace and Sabo by their shirts. The boys kicked and waved their arms as she lifted them up to look at them at eye level.

"STOP IT!" Dadan yelled. "What are you brats going on about?"

"Robin's a pirate!" Luffy shouted excitedly

"SSSShhhhh! Luffy!" Sabo hushed him.

Dropping the boys on the ground, Dadan laughed. "Bahaha! She's eight! She can't be a pirate"

"But she has a bounty!" Luffy argued. "Sabo show her!"

Taking the poster out from his pocket, Sabo unfolded it and held it up for Dadan, Dogra, and Magra to see. They grabbed the paper and stared with their jaws open. Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"EEEEEHHHHH!?"

Dropping the bounty poster, they fell over and stared at the ceiling. Luffy's face dangled over their vision as he gave them his I-told-you-so face. Sabo went and helped the three dumbfounded bandits sit up again. Ace, taking the opportunity while everyone was distracted, picked the paper up off the floor and headed towards the stairs.

"That polite little girl… is worth…. THAT much?" Dagra gasped

"Why do we always get the monsters?" Magra said as he placed a hand over his forehead

"With a bounty like that and this young… she must be the _devil's child_ …. " Dadan said.

Sabo shook his head at the defeated looks on the bandits' faces. Luffy just sat there and laughed.

"Shishishi! You guys are funny!" Luffy wrapped his arms around his tummy and continued to giggle.

"Hey, where did Ace go?" Sabo said, having just noticed that Ace wasn't in the room.

Ace who was halfway up the stairs, had stopped in his tracks. _Devil's child…._ He recalled the last time he had heard something like that. It was recently after Luffy had moved in with them. Ace had overheard the bandits chatting after his bath one night. Dadan, in her drunken state, had started rambling about her misfortune of being stuck with babysitting duty thanks to Garp. Her words slurred together as she had called Ace a child of the devil and wished for him to go off and die somewhere, freeing her from the burdening responsibility. He remembered the rage he felt that day. The voices of all those men that mocked his father echoed in his head as the memories resurfaced. Ace's right hand gripped the railing of the staircase so tightly that his knuckles were beginning to turn white. He was finally brought out of his daze when he heard the wood crack and break off. He watched the blood drip from his splintered hand that was still holding a piece of the banister. Dropping the clump of wood onto the floor, he shook the thoughts from his mind and continued up the rest of the stairs.

* * *

Robin went through the whole bag of clothes. She held up a dress that was a soft lavender. It was the closest thing she could find that resembled her usual dark purple, so she tried it on. It was simple and had pockets at the sides. It fit well enough so Robin decided that this was the one she'd wear. She shoved all the other clothes into the bag. Opening the door, she was surprised to find Ace standing in front of her with his back leaning on the wall and his arms crossed. His hard eyes fixed onto her and Robin was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Although he had muttered a thank you earlier, Ace hadn't exactly made her feel welcome the previous night. Now, he was standing there staring her down and Sabo and Luffy were nowhere to be found.

"Um... Hi Ace."

Ace didn't speak. Looking straight at him, Robin could tell he was undergoing some internal battle. He looked tense and uncertain and she figure it had something to do with her. Why else would he be standing there?

"Is something wrong?"

Grabbing the collar of her dress with his fist, Ace yanked her up towards him. She cringed a little away from him but did nothing else. Ace narrowed his eyes and searched her face for some unknown answer. The big blue orbs that looked back at him spoke only confusion. He watched as they moved from his gaze down towards the hand at his side holding the now crumpled paper.

"Ace"

Ace and Robin both turned their heads and saw Sabo standing there. Next to him, Luffy's head popped out of the corner of the hallway. Ace let go of Robin's collar and stepped back a little away from her. Robin looked from Ace's unreadable expression to Sabo's hard one. Luffy was the one to speak up.

"Robin!"

She turned her attention to Luffy, who had jumped from behind the corner and ran to her.

"Luffy! I'm so happy you're okay."

Robin scanned the little boy for any scraps or wounds and was relieved she found none.

"Robin! Are you a pirate?!" Luffy asked her excitedly.

This time, the brothers didn't bother covering Luffy's mouth. They knew he was going to ask her no matter what. Plus, they were curious to know why she had a bounty as well.

"What makes you think I'm a pirate?" Robin asked.

Ace handed her the paper in his hand. Robin's eyes widened at her picture and the large amount at the bottom. She didn't even know they had issued a bounty for her. _B79,000,000… That's how much it's worth for the government to get rid of me._

"I'm not a pirate…" Robin answered. Her head was down and her bangs shaded her eyes from view.

"Then what does the government have against you?" Sabo asked.

"Yeah! You don't seem like a bad person to me!" Luffy said.

He didn't think she was bad. Luffy's words touched her heart. It wasn't something Robin was used to hearing and she felt that he really meant it. Robin gestured for the three to follow her back into the room. Shutting the door closed, the four kids sat in a circle in the middle of the floor.

"I'm from a place called Ohara in West Blue."

"Ohara? I've read about it. Isn't that island famous for their scholarly research?"

Robin nodded.

"Wait. West Blue? That means you had to cross the Grand Line to get here," Ace said.

"Woah! You've been on the Grand Line?!" Luffy asked in amazement.

"Yes. But, not the way you're imagining it," Robin said.

"So, why aren't you in Ohara now?" Ace asked.

"Because the island doesn't exist anymore…" Robin closed her eyes, remembering the fire, the screaming, and the gunshots.

"What happened?" Sabo asked

"The government happened."

"I don't get it…" Luffy said.

"Maybe I should just tell you the whole story. On the island, there were a group of scholars that my mom used to work with doing research there. She was an archeologist out at sea. And what she and the other scholars were studying wasn't exactly legal. To stop them, the government came and massacred everyone and then burned down the entire island."

"Everyone?" Sabo asked, shocked that the government would enact such violence against innocent civilians.

"Yes… I'm the only one that escaped"

"But why put a bounty on you?" Ace asked.

"Before I escaped, I did something stupid. The scholars warned me not to do it, but… my mother wouldn't look at me… I just wanted her to look at me…" Robin remembered how her mother refused to acknowledge her as she walked away with the government official.

"What did you do?" Sabo asked

"Their goal was to kill all the researchers on the island… especially those who have been studying the void century and can read the poneglyphs"

"What's a poneglyph?" Luffy asked

"It's an ancient stone that the government doesn't want discovered or deciphered."

"And what was the stupid thing you did?"

"I yelled that I can read the poneglyphs and that I'm one of the archeologists. I just wanted my mom to see me and be proud of me. It got her attention… and unfortunately, the government official's too."

"So you get a big bounty just because you can read some old writing?" Ace asked disbelievingly.

"That _old writing_ sparked enough fear in the government to destroy an entire island," Robin responded

"It still doesn't explain how you got here," Sabo said

"I was captured by a marine ship shortly after leaving the island. By the time I stole a boat from them and escaped, the ship was already sailing in East Blue waters. Then I just drifted on the ocean until I ended up here, and I guess that's when you guys found me."

"I see," Sabo said quietly.

Nobody spoke after that and the silence was deafening. Robin watched the boys' pensive expressions as they let her story sink in. She wasn't sure why she decided to tell them nor did she know how they might react. A small section of her brain told her that they would turn on her or sell her out. But she saw they had given her a chance to explain rather than just rejecting her. Robin had been completely honest about her side of things and she hoped it was enough to gain their trust. It felt like a great weight had been lifted off her chest since she was able to share and let out the pain of her recent sufferings. But with the discovery of her bounty she felt that fulfilling her late mother's dream of finding the rest of the poneglyphs may prove to be more of a challenge than before. Especially, since she had no idea where she would even start. So many thoughts filled the little girl's head as she waited for some response that wasn't coming. Sighing, Robin resolved to just ask them.

"So are you going to turn me over to the government now?"

The three faces stared incredulously at her for a moment before they burst out laughing.

"What?" Robin couldn't understand why they were laughing at her.

"Why would we turn you in, Robin?" Luffy asked.

"Because you know I'm a wanted criminal."

"A criminal… For being able to read some old stones? Doesn't sound like much of a crime to me," Ace sneered. "Besides, why would we turn in a criminal when we're going to be criminals, too?"

"What do you mean?" Robin couldn't believe how they were taking things.

"It's our dream, Robin. Ace, Luffy, and I want to became pirates," Sabo explained.

"Not just any pirates. We'll be the strongest and most free pirates out there. And I'll have the highest bounty of course," Ace smirked.

"Well it looks like Robin has a head start on you, Ace!" Sabo teased while Luffy snickered in the background.

"Whatever! Just wait till I start my journey. That B79,000,000 is going to look like nothing when the world gets a piece of me!" Ace bragged.

Sabo and Luffy jumped in with their own imaginary bounty numbers and the three boys argued spiritedly over who would be the strongest. Robin couldn't believe what she was hearing. As she watched them argue from the sidelines, a small smile crept onto her face. _They're really interesting people. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to stay with them for a little while._

* * *

It was dark outside by the time the four children had emerged from the upstairs room. After eating supper with the other bandits, the boys seemed too tired to walk back to the base, so they decided to just stay the night at Dadan's.

There weren't any clouds in the sky that evening. Having been unconscious for most of the day, Robin felt pretty awake, so she decided to sit out and stare at the sky again. Sitting on the front steps of the cabin, Robin admired the twinkling stars that dangled above her. Everything was tranquil and quiet, like the entire world was at a standstill. The only noise she heard were the unseen crickets chirping somewhere nearby.

"You're not sleeping, kid?"

Robin turned and saw Dadan approach from the doorway. The big woman sat down next to the little girl, sipping a hot drink from a mug.

"I'm not tired."

She handed Robin a smaller mug. Nodding a small thank you, Robin sipped the hot tea, grateful for the warmth it brought.

"Thank you for everything Dadan."

"Don't get used to it."

"I know. I'm just really grateful."

Dadan sipped her cup again in an attempt to hide the smile on her face.

"I don't know how you got involved with those little monsters."

"Fufufu. You mean Sabo, Luffy, and Ace? I kind of like them."

"You're the first."

"I think they're funny."

"They're trouble." Dadan grunted.

Robin looked up at the large woman. Dadan's face spoke of annoyance but Robin could see the care and love for the boys in her eyes.

"Dadan, I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Are you their mother?"

"Do those monsters look like they came from me?!" the bandit made a face at the little girl.

"I meant like an adopted mother."

"They're more like a burden and a responsibility than actual children..."

"Hmm…"

Robin sipped her tea and went back to looking up at the sky. A few minutes passed as the two sat there enjoying the silence and the cool night air. Then Dadan stood up.

"My tea is finished. I'm going to bed."

"Good night, Dadan."

"Night, kid."

Dadan reached the doorway and paused. Turning back to Robin, she said, "I think you're good for them."

"Hm?" Robin looked back at the woman.

"You have a scary bounty… But you seem polite and pretty mature for your age. They need a little of that."

With that, Dadan disappeared into the dark cabin and all was quiet again. Turning back to look at the sky, Robin thought about what Dadan had said. Everything felt so new. So far, everyone seemed quite accepting of her and she felt at peace. Closing her eyes and inhaling, Robin breathed deeply holding onto this new feeling until the creaking of floorboards got her attention. Turning around, Robin found Sabo standing in the doorway, hugging a blanket around him. She thought he looked a bit funny without his top hat on.

"Sabo. You're awake."

"Yeah. I woke up and you weren't in the room. I thought I'd check up on you."

"Thanks."

Sabo took a seat on the steps next to Robin.

"How are your wounds?"

"They don't hurt much. Dogra and Magra are really good with their medical skills."

"They've bandaged up Luffy enough times to be experts by now."

"Fufufu. You guys play pretty rough."

"Well, we have to toughen up for our future profession."

"I see."

"I have something for you."

"What is it?" Robin asked with a curious expression.

From under his blanket, Sabo took out the book he found earlier. He handed it to her. Robin's eyes widened. She had been afraid that it was lost in the forest somewhere, and was shocked that Sabo had it the entire time.

"I think this is yours."

"Sabo… Thank you."

Robin hugged the blond boy tightly. Then she returned her attention to the book and clutched it to her chest for a few moments.

"No problem. But I noticed you didn't have this the night before and then I found it near you after the whole wolf incident. Is this the reason why you were gone this morning?"

"Yeah. I went back to my boat to get it."

"Why do you have this?"

"It's the only surviving book from Ohara. I was able to save it before I left the island."

"It's a fictional storybook."

"Mhmm"

"So out of all the history or research you could have taken, you decided to save this book. Why?"

Robin smiled down at the tattered cover. Yes, she was a scholar and loved history and ancient facts, but this fictional storybook held more sentiment than any other book out there. She remembered when the head scholar, Clover, had given the book to her. She was so young back then and it was awhile after her mother had left on a ship.

That day, he had found Robin crying in the library of the tree of knowledge. Clover carried the crying child back to his office and sat her in a chair at his desk.

 _"Robin, I have something for you,"_

 _"Yes?" Robin said through her tears._

 _"Here," He placed a storybook on the table in front of her._

 _"What is it?"_

 _"I've known your mother a long time Robin… When she was little, this was her favorite book. She'd come and visit me, and she would always have that book with her. She's probably read it a thousand times."_

 _Robin picked up the worn out book._

 _"It's not a history book."_

 _Clover chuckled at her observation._

 _"No it's not. It's just a fictional adventure story. But your mother loved it. I think it showed her that there was a world of truths out there just waiting for her to discover them. Other than your father, I think it's the reason why she wanted to take her research out to sea."_

Since that day, Robin kept this book close to her. It was her mother's childhood treasure. Thinking about Clover brought a tear to Robin's eye. Sabo watched her expression and understood the book's value to Robin.

"Because… It was my mom's."

"A big book of adventures," Sabo commented.

"Yeah…"

"I want to write a book like that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When I go out to sea, I'm going to record all my adventures and publish them. So my story will stay alive for generations." Sabo looked up to the sky, thinking about his future adventures.

"That's a nice dream," Robin said.

She began flipping through the pages of the book. Suddenly, her calm demeanor changed to a panicked one. She turned from page to page frantically. Finally, she flipped the book upside down and began shaking hoping for something to fall out.

"What's wrong?"

"It's missing! Where is it?"

Robin seemed to be talking to herself more than to him.

"Do you mean this?"

Sabo took out a paper and handed it to Robin. Taking it, Robin unfolded the paper and let out a breath of relief.

"I found it stuck between the pages. I'm sorry I didn't give it back earlier."

"It's okay. I'm just glad it's not lost."

"Who is that?"

"This… is my mother. And it's the only picture I have of her."

Robin held out the paper so they could both look at it. It was an old wanted poster. In the photo was a mature looking woman with long white hair. Underneath it was the name Nico Olvia.

"Wow. Now I get why it's so important to you. So, Nico is your family name?"

"Yep. Nico Robin is my full name."

"It's a nice name."

"Thank you."

Folding the paper back up, Robin placed it in the pages of the book again.

"It's getting late. Let go back inside," Robin suggested.

"Yeah. And we have a big day tomorrow."

"What's going on tomorrow?"

"We're planning on going into town to sell some crocodile skins. We've only done it a few times in the past, but it always gives us a good amount of money for our pirate fund."

"Oh," Robin didn't know there was a city nearby.

"Maybe you can come with us. We can show you the town and the Grey Terminal."

"Grey Terminal?"

"It's a sketchy area we have to pass by to get into the town. It sort of surrounds the gates. I used to live there. But don't worry, you'll be fine with us."

"Well, alright then."

"C'mon, it's getting cold out here." Sabo started for the door.

"Sabo?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for finding my book… and for listening to me tonight."

"No problem. What are friends for."

 _Friends…_ Robin liked the sound of that. The two disappeared into the cabin, the rest of the night was quiet.

* * *

 **A/N: I tried to focus this chapter on them learning about each other and mostly about Robin. The next chapters will have more action and adventure I'm hoping. Thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Hunt Is On

A/N: Hello again! Sorry for not updating in a while, but at least this chapter is longer than the last few. Enjoy! And let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

* * *

Chapter 4: The Hunt Is On

"Umm… I think I'll pass."

Robin watched Ace, Sabo, and Luffy climb onto each other's shoulders. Now stacked up like a pillar, Ace covered them with the large black cloak they used whenever they wanted to sneak into town. As amusing as it was to watch the boys play dress up and wobble around as they tried to balance, Robin didn't really want to be part of it herself. Plus, the cloak was only long enough to cover the three of them and if they added another person to the stack, the figure would have looked too tall and attract suspicious eyes.

"Why do you need a disguise again?"

"Because we're famous," Ace said.

"The guards at the gate recognize us as troublemakers," Sabo explained. "And this makes it easier to sell crocodile skins if the buyer thinks he's dealing with adults."

"How is Robin going to get in?" Luffy asked.

"Can I just walk in? The guards don't know me as a troublemaker unless they saw my wanted poster."

That thought hadn't occurred to them.

"The guards at the gate are used to seeing low life criminals all the time. There's so many in the Grey Terminal. I doubt they even pay attention to those posters," Ace said.

"Yeah. They won't go after you unless your on the kingdom's watch-list like we are. Or if you cause trouble," Sabo said.

"And, I doubt they'd be on the look out for a criminal from west blue," Ace said

That made Robin feel a little better about going into town. After seeing her wanted poster, she wasn't sure what would happen if someone recognized her in public. Would the cops come for her? Will they call the marines? So many bad things could happen. She didn't enjoy the idea of not knowing what to do should such circumstances arise. She needed to be prepared to run. But for now, Robin felt secure with Sabo, Ace, and Luffy around. Plus, she was excited to explore a new area of the island. After the boys loaded the crocodile skins onto a cart, the four of them set off towards the Grey Terminal.

* * *

The stink of decomposing waste and rusty metal filled the air. The Grey Terminal, a mountainous heap of rotting leftovers, was a place where the trash piled high on the land smelled almost as bad as the people who lived there. Despite the stench, Robin was excited to see what was beyond the gates that separated the Grey Terminal from the rest of society. Sabo explained that Goa Kingdom was divided into several sectors. Beyond the gates, there was Edge Town, then the Town Center. Then there's High Town and the Royal Palace in the middle. Robin listened intently as she walked with the hooded figure tugging the cart with the crocodile skin. It must have been an odd sight to see such an innocent looking girl strolling the ghetto with this shady character. But, this was the Grey Terminal, and nobody here gave a damn about anything or anybody unless it pertains to themselves. The men didn't give Robin nor the disguised Ace, Sabo, and Luffy a second glance, all too focused on rummaging through the garbage for something of value.

Not too far from the city gates, a man with a red bandana wrapped around his head sat lazily reading a newspaper from this morning's garbage drop. His eyes fell on the headline, 'Demon of Ohara Escapes Marine Ship'. He skimmed the article and laughed out loud.

"Hey, guys! Get this! The marines got beaten by some little kid!" he called out to his hoodlum buddies, who were all laying upon piles of trash, some of them drunk.

"Hah! Marines! What a joke!" one bellowed.

"Yeah! And it's a little girl too! Check out the picture!" The red bandana men stuck out his arm so his buddies could see. Under the article was a black and white photocopy of Robin's wanted poster.

"The kid is worth a lot," another commented

"Yeah. Imagine how rich we'd be if we caught her"

"Doesn't matter. Any money we come across, we have to turn it over to the boss. He's still upset about losing a bunch of cash to those 3 brats."

"True. But, what if we brought back B79,000,000 for the boss? We'd be on his good side for life!" The red bandana man said.

"It's a nice dream. But it says the demon kid is from Ohara. Isn't that a bit far from here? The chances of finding her around these parts are zero."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that…." The red bandana man smirked. Something in the distance had caught his eye. Moving nearer and nearer to the city gates was the little girl from the newspaper. An insidious plan formed in the bandana man's head, and he called his buddies to gather together.

"How would you boys like to go demon hunting?"

* * *

Robin thought Edge Town was like a suburban Grey Terminal, except it had concrete buildings and paved streets. The ground wasn't covered with rotting food, but it wasn't exactly clean. It didn't smell as bad either, but whiffs of Grey Terminal odors still found its way through the gates. The environment looked more livable in comparison, but like the Grey Terminal, suspicious figures stood in every corner. A foreboding aura hung around the entrance of Edge Town. Robin could feel people watching her. The characters along the streets and in the alleyways seem to clump together in groups, all of them discreetly eyeing some poor sap who walked through the gates. They were like predators examining their prey, each seeking to take something shiny after the kill. The only thing holding them back was deciding who their target would be. Under the scrutiny of looming glares, Robin walked closer to Ace, Sabo, and Luffy.

Tugging onto their cloak, she whispered, "Why does it feel like everyone is watching us? Nobody in the Grey Terminal paid any attention when we walked by."

"They're probably after our goods," Ace whispered down.

"Be on your guard. We might have to run," Sabo said through the cloak.

"And stop wobbling around Luffy," Ace hissed at Luffy who was at the bottom.

"I'm getting hungry and my legs are tired," Luffy whined.

"Just a little further," Sabo said.

They were passing by a narrow alleyway when a skinny man in a leather jacket came and stood in front of them. Following him, a gang of young hoodlums began to surround Robin and the cloaked Ace, Sabo, and Luffy.

"I'm afraid you'll have to hand over your goods. Unless you want a beating," the skinny ringleader said.

"You chose the wrong people to pick a fight with," Ace said from under the hood.

"A little girl and a man who can't even walk properly. I think we picked the perfect target!" The ringleader laughed.

"You asked for it," Ace replied with a smirk on his face. Then pulling the cloak off them, he yelled, "Luffy, grab the skin and run!"

The three boys separated, with Ace and Sabo fending off the hoodlums with their metal staffs while Luffy tried to escape with Robin following close behind. Unfortunately, a few guys came running towards them from the side. Determined to protect Luffy, Robin turned around to face them. Crossing her arms in front of her, she concentrated. Arms sprouted from the ground and grabbed onto the men's ankles, causing them to trip and fall over. Robin smiled at her accomplishment and ran to Luffy's side. He was hugging the crocodile skin protectively and the men were closing in on them. Ace, having seen what Robin did, got an idea.

"Luffy! Stretch your arm out to me!"

Nodding, Luffy gave Robin the skin and twisted his arm around. "Gomu Gomu no!" His right arm extended, passing in between the legs of one of the men. Ace caught Luffy's wrist and began running down the opposite side of the alley, yanking the arm with him as he passed the hoodlums. They lost their footing as Luffy's arm swung under their knees and they all toppled over. Now it was their chance to escape before the gang could get back up. Ace jumped up onto a high wall and over to the other side. Sabo followed up and reached down to pull Robin and the crocodile skin up with him.

"Luffy! Hurry!"

Luffy stretched his arm towards his brother. Grabbing Luffy's wrist, Sabo tugged, and Luffy came flying over the wall. Having made it to the other side safely, the kids ran towards the Town Center.

* * *

"Phew! That was close," Sabo exhaled in relief as they made it to the Town Center.

"Yeah, for a second I thought Luffy was going to lose our goods," Ace said

"Nuh uh! I would have protected it!" Luffy huffed

"Yeah right! If Robin didn't trip those guys, you would have lost it!" Ace yelled

"That was pretty smart of you, Robin," Sabo said as he turned to look at her.

But, Robin hadn't heard anything that was said in the past few minutes. She was too consumed by the tall buildings of all different colors and the crowds of vibrant people going about their day. Here, everyone was dressed in a variety of fashions. Some looked grand and rich, the men wearing expensive one-eyed glasses and top hats. Their wives wore frilly tight dresses and held their noses high in the air. Others looked more humble and wore average clothing, nothing too fancy. A few shabby looking men walked by, probably here to sell something from the Grey Terminal. The Town Center was a crock pot of people from every class. Robin tried to think of Ohara being as busy as this, but she had a hard time seeing her old home as anything but ruins. It would never be the same. Robin kept turning her head around, taking in the sights, until her eyes met the great towering palace. It was actually quite far away from where she stood, but it was so huge that it could be seen practically anywhere in town. Wow…was all Robin could think. She had never seen a palace before. Goa Kingdom was truly a place of nobility.

"You like it here?" Sabo asked.

Robin nodded turning to him. Looking Sabo up and down, she realized how his hat and clothes resembled the rich men's and how different they were compared to Luffy's or Ace's. She wondered if Sabo had any connection to the nobility here, but didn't ask.

"C'mon, we're going to sell this thing and then we can buy something to eat," Sabo said.

Luffy's tummy began to grumble. "I'm hungry…" he pouted.

"You're always hungry," Ace shook his head.

Robin and Sabo laughed at Luffy and Ace as they walked down the street. In another alleyway, the three boys put on their disguise once again. Robin waited outside the shop while they went in to do the exchange. When all was done and the three took their disguise off again, Ace had a smile on his face.

"We got more than last time," Ace said as he counted the money and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Food! Food! Food!" Luffy screamed jumping up and down.

"Alright! We get it! You're hungry," Ace said as he walked ahead of them on the street. "C'mon, we'll get some street food today."

Luffy sunk his teeth into the short rib he was holding. The juices dripped down his mouth and chin as he savored his lunch. When they first sat down at the table in an outside seating area, Luffy's plate was piled high with meat of all sorts, all from this little barbecue stand across the street. It had only been a minute after they started eating and he had already gone through half the stack. Tearing the meat off with his teeth, Luffy tossed the bones haphazardly in all directions, eager to get to the next piece. A few pieces hit several people passing by behind him. One even landed inside the cleavage of a woman's blouse, and another in a man's soup.

"Ow!" Ace yelled as a chicken bone hit him on the head. "Watch where you're throwing that Luffy!"

"Luffy, you might want to slow down. You'll choke on something the way you're eating," Sabo warned.

"Shishishi. Sorry guys! I'm just really hungry!" Luffy grinned with his mouth still stuffed with food.

"That's okay," Robin said as she picked up one of Luffy's rib bones off her plate and tossed it. She watched as Luffy downed the rest of this plate and giggled inwardly at how funny he looked with his cheeks stretched out and bones sticking out of his mouth. That's one perk of having rubber cheeks. You can fill them with as much food as you want.

"I think I lost my appetite," Sabo said when Luffy leaned over to grab the last chicken leg and a big blob of drool mixed with meat sauce plopped onto Sabo's dish.

"Desert!" Luffy screamed after swallowing the last bit of his meal. "I want ice cream!"

"There's just no satisfying your stomach is there?" Robin asked still giggling.

"Nope. It's a black hole." Sabo answered for his brother.

Down the street, at a corner of the intersection, two policemen stood watch. Apparently, there had been a few complaints from the citizens about food bits being thrown at them. A woman freaked out when she found a steak bone in her baby's carriage and started badgering the officers to arrest the culprit who threw it in there. "My baby could have swallowed it and died! Oh, and the germs! Ugh! People should have the decency to throw garbage where it belongs, in the Grey Terminal!" she yelled. So the two officers were forced to come investigate the matter, although they had a pretty good idea of who was causing the ruckus. And sure enough, they spotted the three shortest troublemakers in Goa Kingdom, and it seems they've added a fourth member to their little rabble-rousing crew.

"Ugh. Them again… Those guards they hire at the gates need to pay better attention to who they let in. Somehow these three always slip through," one of the officers groaned.

"Quit whining and let's get them," his partner replied.

The two officers began to move through the crowded street towards the group of kids.

"Guys, I think we'll have to save ice cream for next time," Sabo said gesturing his head towards the approaching policemen.

"Time to make our exit," Ace said jumping up from his seat.

"WHHHHY?" Luffy whined.

"Cause we've been spotted, dummy!" Ace said yanking his brother by the back of his shirt and dragging him off the chair.

The four kids started going the opposite direction of the policemen. When the two officers saw that they were making a run for it, they sped up. "Sorry Madame!"…"Excuse me, Sir!"… "Watch out there kid!" they said as they desperately tried to weave through the crowd. When they got to the other side, the two officers began sprinting to catch up to the fleeing troublemakers. At first, it seemed like they were gaining on them. That was until two hands sprouted on the sides of their head and clasped over their eyes. Unable to see anything, the officers began to stumble and tried to stop themselves. But, not before one of them ran straight into a pole and the other fell into a pot hole.

Ace looked behind him and laughed, before rounding a corner into the alley and ducking behind some trash cans in case those suckers had backup. Sabo, Luffy, and Robin followed suit. The four of them took the opportunity to catch their breath, all panting from the chase.

"That was… good think…ing," Sabo said in between breaths.

"Thanks," Robin replied.

"Shi shi shi! That was funny," Luffy giggled.

"C'mon, let's get out of here before someone else recognizes us," Ace said.

* * *

Leaving town was a lot easier than getting in. The guards never pay attention to who leaves the city. Their only job was to weed out the people who are and aren't allowed to come in. So no disguise was needed. Ace, Sabo, Luffy, and Robin walked back into the Grey Terminal with ease, not having to worry about being chased by the authorities as this was a lawless zone.

Ace and Sabo walked ahead and chatted among themselves about going to their treasure stash and hiding the rest of the cash from today. They tried to calculate how much more they needed to save. Luffy marched happily behind them, and Robin walked a little farther back. She was feeling pretty relaxed now. The trip into town went really well. There was so much to see, the food was good, and the sneaking in was fun. But the best part Robin thought, was the feeling of outmaneuvering that gang and the police. It was a thrill she had never felt before. Robin smiled to herself. Then coming out of her thoughts, she figured she better catch up before she fell behind too much. Starting to speed up her pace, she realized something. Only Sabo and Ace walked ahead of her. Where did Luffy go? Turning her head everywhere, she went into a panic. That was until she spotted a tiny figure running down a path between two tall piles of sheet metal on her right. Quickly, she ran in that direction before losing sight of him behind one of the piles.

"Give that back you ugly bird!" Luffy yelled as he ran.

Flying away from him, a large crow held Luffy's straw hat in its claws. It had swooped down earlier and snatched the hat right off of the boy's head. Now, Luffy was on a mission to retrieve his precious headwear. Turning at a corner by a mountain pile of garbage, the crow dropped the hat and a man with a red bandana tied around his head caught it and spun it in his hand.

"Hey, that's my hat!" Luffy yelled at him.

"Your hat? I don't think so kid. I found it just now. So it's mine," The bandana man smirked.

"Luffy! What's *pant* going on *pant* here?" Robin finally caught up with Luffy. Perfect timing the bandana man thought.

"Robin! He stole my hat!" Luffy pouted.

Robin looked at the man Luffy was pointing to. She did not appreciate the smirk on his face. Stealing from a little boy? What a despicable thing for a grown man to do. Robin would love to wipe that stupid grin off his face for picking on Luffy. Just as she got ready to use her powers on this guy, she felt two big hands grab her from behind. The next thing she knew, she was being thrown into a big sack and everything turned dark.

"Hey! Let me out!" Robin screamed.

"Robin!" Luffy made a run towards the man hoisting the sack over his shoulder. He didn't get far. The bandana man blocked Luffy's way and kicked him backwards into the dirt.

"Take her back to the shack boys," the bandana man ordered.

Robin couldn't see anything so she couldn't form any phantom limbs to help her. She knew that if she had practiced her devil fruit more she'd probably be able to do something about her situation. But since she always felt she had to hide her powers, she never had the opportunity to explore what she could really do besides form a few arms and legs here and there. Feeling completely helpless and scared, she cried for Luffy! She was worried that the stupid guy was hurting the seven-year-old.

"Luffy! Run!" She screamed as she felt the sack bob up and down as the man carried her off.

"Give Robin back you stupid hat stealer!" Luffy ran towards the bandana man, ready to jump on him and attack. This time, instead of kicking Luffy away again, the bandana man took out a splintery club he found on the ground and knocked Luffy into the air. Luffy's head hit the windshield of the rusty car, shattering the glass as he fell inside. Grinning to himself, the bandana man felt that was probably enough fun.

"Don't fight battles you can't win kid. Oh, and thanks for the hat."

By the time Luffy got up and was able to climb out of the car, the bandana man was gone and so was Robin. Luffy bit his bottom lip, angry at himself for failing to save Robin along with his hat. He was weak and he needed help. He had to find Ace and Sabo. They'll save her! He knew that the first thing they'd do is hide their money at the secret spot. So Luffy ran as fast as he could towards the forest.

* * *

"Do you think they got lost?" Sabo asked after unloading the money into the square hole that was cut into a branch high up on a tree.

"Maybe. We'll go look for them as soon as we're done here," Ace answered as he emptied the last of the cash from his pockets.

As they covered the treasure-filled hole again, Luffy came running towards them.

"Ace! Sabo! Help!" He cried.

Jumping down from the tall branch, Ace and Sabo rushed over to their frantic little brother.

"What's going on?" Sabo asked. He noticed Robin wasn't with Luffy, and from the distress written on his brother's face, this couldn't be good.

Luffy talked so fast Ace and Sabo couldn't understand a thing that was coming out of his mouth. Sentences were cut off in between Luffy's panting, and the whole story came out a jumbled mess.

"Luffy! You need to slow down!" Sabo tried to calm his brother. "Take a deep breath."

"Okay," Luffy said. After inhaling and exhaling deeply like Sabo advised, he said, "Robin was kidnapped by this stupid bandana guy who stole my hat."

"What?!" Ace and Sabo yelled.

"What do they want with her?" Sabo asked.

"I don't know! He just said they were taking her to 'the shack'," Luffy replied

"They're probably going to turn her into the government for the money," Ace said with his fist balled up in anger.

"Maybe it was a bad idea taking her into town," Sabo said with regret

"She would have been fine if we were there," Ace said. "You weren't supposed to run off!" Ace smacked Luffy on the head.

"Ow! I didn't mean to get Robin into trouble…" Luffy said dejectedly as he rubbed the new bump forming.

"Ace, stop it," Sabo said. "Don't worry Luffy, we'll get her back. Right, Ace?" Sabo looked at Ace as if he wasn't 100% sure if Ace would agree to save her.

Ace caught the tone in Sabo's voice and his look.

"Robin did help us out a lot today so we shouldn't abandon her," Ace said, showing that he would help.

Luffy smiled, now determined to get Robin back.

"Luffy. You said they were taking her to a shack?" Sabo asked.

Luffy nodded.

"The only shack that's big enough to house a big group belonged to that chump who kidnapped Luffy before," Ace said.

"But Porchemy's gone. That means a new group of thugs must have taken over," Sabo said.

"Yeah! That hat stealing bandana guy was barking orders like he was the boss!" Luffy said.

"Then we know exactly where Robin is," Sabo said.

* * *

After making their way back, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were able to locate the shack at the far end of the Grey Terminal, a place most of the homeless avoided. They were able to sneak in without being detected since the guard outside was apparently taking a snooze. They tiptoed past him and hid behind some large crates on the side. Sticking their heads up a little, they tried to get a good look at the people in the room. There was a total of 9 men. Four of them carried big clubs, two with guns, and three had swords.

"Pssst… Look," Sabo whispered and nodded his head to the far corner.

There, Robin sat, ropes binding her to a wooden pillar. Fear, sadness, and uncertainty ran through her as she watched the men in the room. She knew they planned to trade her in for the cash bounty. Robin didn't like the idea of being imprisoned on a government ship again with no hope for a future. But, knowing that Luffy was able to avoid being taken was something good. She didn't want this kidnapping to be the last time she'd ever see that little face. Thinking about Luffy's bright and cheery smile, Robin felt she had to escape, or at least try. After all, she worked so hard to get off that marine ship and the bandana man was still wearing Luffy hat. She had to get it back for him. Robin thought about how she'd been able to help Ace, Sabo, and Luffy escape with her powers all day. Maybe they can come in handy now, too.

Her arms were tied to her sides. If Robin concentrated really hard, she may be able to form a limb or two without crossing them. Her power was always more effective when she crossed her arms together. Why that was, Robin never really knew. Maybe it was just a something that helped her focus her energy. Either way, she was going to have to try if she wanted to get out of here. Taking a deep breath Robin tried her best to concentrate. If she could grab one of the swords, she can cut herself loose. Suddenly, one arm sprouted from the ground. Unfortunately, the bandana man noticed the phantom limb and quickly took his sword out and swung. Robin made her arm turn to petals, but the sword nick the phantom arm before it could disappeared completely. Robin whimpered as a small cut formed on her original arm, droplets of blood trickling down from the opening.

"So you're a devil fruit user, huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised that your such a freak. The papers did say you were a _demon_ ," the bandana man jeered. Turning to his buddies, he said, "If she tries anything funny or makes any more freaky arms, cut them off!"

"What if we accidentally kill her when we slice her limbs?" One of the men asked

"Who cares! The poster says 'dead or alive' so we'll get the money either way. Besides, she's a demon child. The world is better off if she was dead!" The bandana man sneered.

Silent tears streamed down Robin's face as she listened to them talk. She didn't see any hope of escaping now and the fact that they were taunting her existence only destroy her resolve even more.

Those words again…. Demon… The way that guy spat them out made Ace's blood boil. Ace's grip around his metal staff tightened and a dark hatred shuttered through him.

"Okay, we need a plan to get her out. Ace –" Sabo stopped talking when he realized Ace wasn't crouching beside him anymore.

At the sound of a loud clang, Sabo and Luffy stuck their heads up from the crates again and saw Ace's metal staff locked against the bandana man's sword. Ace and the bandana man were staring at each other intensity, both trying to win dominance in this battle of strength. The two jumped backwards seeing that they were evenly matched, although, the bandana man tried to play if off like he was going easy on the 10-year-old. Sabo slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Why am I the only brother who actually thinks before he acts?!" Sabo said exasperatedly.

Sighing, Sabo jumped up from behind the crates and landed next to Ace, ready to have his brother's back. Luffy followed and stood behind his older brothers, his small fists up in front of him. Robin looked up, completely shocked. Out of the corner of his eye, Ace could see Robin, her face stained with tears. This only added to his rage.

The bandana man eyed the three boys, his gaze settling on Sabo for a moment. Sabo furrowed his eyebrows with suspicion, as he felt the man's scan him up and down. The tension was rising as Sabo thought of an escape route when suddenly the bandana man shouted.

"Get them! And don't let the girl escape!"

A fight broke out as the boys were now being chased around the shack. The men with guns aimed and fired. Fortunately, Sabo and Ace were quick to jump out of the way, while Luffy just stood there. The bullets stretched into his skin, then ricochet back out hitting some of the goons.

"Shi shi shi!" Luffy laughed and stuck his tongue out at the now very irritated men. He broke out into a sprint as the angry men now rushed towards him with clubs.

Sabo tried to find a path to Robin while Ace wreaked havoc on the kidnappers. He seemed to be trying to take on all of them at once. The freckled 10-year-old jumped up over a group of four men and swung his staff violently, striking them down. Robin winced as the metal connected with their jaw bones and skulls. Ace was a good fighter and he would attack hoodlums to steal money, or wild beasts in the forest but something was different about the way he was fighting now. Robin stared at the livid expression on Ace's face. There was rage there, a pure hatred that shook Robin's very core as she watched him lose control.

"Robin!" Sabo had made it to her in the midst of the confusion and began untying her ropes.

"Sabo! What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to save you. What else?"

Having undone all the knots, Sabo pulled Robin up. Taking her hand, he ran for the shattered window nearby.

"Luffy! Ace! Let's go!" Sabo yelled.

The bandana man clenched his teeth in frustration, seeing that the kids were escaping. He made a run towards Robin and Sabo with his sword, when suddenly Ace leaped in front of him, blocking his path. Luffy had already joined Sabo and was climbing through the window now.

"Ace…" Robin stared at Ace's back, tense and sweaty from his rampage. _Why is he fighting so hard? This can't just be about wanting to save me._

"Sabo. Take Luffy and Robin, and go," Ace directed.

"Ace," Sabo used his warning tone. Sabo would drag Ace with them if he didn't know how stubborn his brother was. He knew Ace would never back down from a fight, and normally, Sabo would give in and fight alongside him. But he couldn't leave Robin and Luffy alone this time, so heeding to Ace's request, Sabo helped Robin climb outside and followed after her. Luffy, Robin, and Sabo ran as fast as they could into the forest back to the base hoping no one else was coming for them. Ace will be okay. He's strong. They all knew that.

 _Don't do anything stupid Ace_ …. Sabo said silently.

* * *

Most of the men had fallen unconscious or were juddering in pain by the time Sabo, Robin, and Luffy had made it to the forest entrance. From the ground, the bandana man pulled himself up by the elbows and glared angrily at the 10-year old who had rendered him immobile with a violent strike at the kneecaps. Ace walked towards him slowly.

"Don't ever call her a demon again," Ace hissed with a dark and warning expression.

"What are you going to do about it if I do? Kill me?"

Ace was silent.

"You brats think you're so strong just because you injured us a little. You don't even have the strength to end me. You think you can protect her or those two other kiddies?"

"Shut up!" Ace yelled.

"You can't protect someone the world wants dead. You know why?" the bandana man smirked. "Because you're weak and monsters like her are a lost cause. You'll die if you keep trying to protect her from the government. I'm sure there are plenty more people who will be going after that little _demon_."

A vein formed on Ace's forehead as he clenched his teeth and his eyes widened in anger. His foot went up and with all his strength, he struck it down hard. A loud crack echoed as Ace's heel mashed into the bandana man's face.

"And I'll be taking this," Ace said as he relieved the man of the straw hat and put it on his own head.

The bandana man didn't reply as he laid there, blood flowing down from his nostrils and out of his mouth.

* * *

Luffy plopped down on his back in exhaustion and rested. They had run all the way back to the base and now the sun was starting to set. Robin stood looking in the direction they had come from, hoping to see Ace coming up the path soon. _Why isn't he back yet? Did he lose the fight? We shouldn't have left without Ace! It's my fault! Why did they have to come and save me?!_ Sabo climbed down the ladder after disappearing into the tree house a few moments ago. Walking next to Robin, he noticed her worried expression and the tears that were threatening to spill. He placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Robin. Ace will be fine. He's the strongest out of all of us! Just don't tell him I told you that." Sabo smiled softly at her. "C'mon, you need to sit down."

He led her to one of the logs under the tree and sat her down.

"Let me see your hand," Sabo directed.

Hesitantly, Robin brought out her arm. Sabo took it and examined the cut.

"It doesn't look too bad," he said. Taking some bandages, which he got when he went up to the tree house, Sabo began wrapping her arm. "I'm sorry they hurt you, Robin. Ace and I should have noticed when you and Luffy went missing. If we had paid more attention, this wouldn't have happened. Can you forgive us?"

Robin blinked at his words. _He… blames himself for this? It's not their fault those guys went after me or that they picked on Luffy. If anything, I'm the one to blame for getting them into this mess._

"Sabo…" Robin bit her bottom lip, her emotions starting to get the better of her.

"Hey, don't cry. You're safe now," Sabo said.

"Yeah! Robin, you don't ever have to worry with Sabo and Ace around!" Luffy sat up and grinned with his big shining teeth.

Now she was full on bawling. But not because she was sad or scared or in pain. It was because she had never been so thankful in her life. Besides Saul, she had never had friends who would go out of their way to help her. But these three boys did, even risking their lives fighting a bunch of armed men just to get her back. Sabo chuckled mildly, knowing these were happy tears. Robin wiped her face with her unbandaged arm, trying to stop herself from crying.

"I'm *sniffle* sorry… *Sniffle* I just…."

"It's okay," Sabo patted her head. "You don't have to say anything."

Robin smiled, her eyes red and puffy. "Thank you," she said softly.

* * *

Sabo and Luffy had just started stoking the campfire when Ace finally arrived back at the base. He didn't look at anyone as he walked past them and climbed up the ladder to the tree house. Before he disappeared inside, he tossed Luffy the straw hat.

"Yay! Thanks, Ace!" Luffy yelled. Despite not getting a response back, Luffy was still overjoyed that his brother was able to retrieve his prized possession.

Robin, on the other hand, felt anxious. She was relieved when she saw Ace making his way up the path. She was glad he was safe and he didn't seem hurt, but there was something bothering him. She could tell from the hard and distant look on his face as he approached. And now, without a word, he had gone up to the tree house and she didn't know what to think. She stared up at the dark window of the wooden shed.

"Don't worry, Robin. He's just heated up from the fight. He'll be better tomorrow." Sabo tried to reassure her, even though he wasn't exactly sure what was going on with his brother. Ace was hard to understand sometimes, but Sabo was patient. He knew that whatever this was, Ace wanted space to deal with it on his own.

Robin nodded and went to back to helping Luffy and Sabo with gathering firewood and preparing dinner. They didn't have time to catch anything to eat today, so they settled for berries and apples which Robin was able to gather from nearby trees and bushes with her powers. Ace didn't eat with them, but Robin wrapped some food in a small cloth in case he was hungry later.

It was dark when Robin, Sabo, and Luffy climbed into the tree house. Sabo and Luffy fell asleep almost instantly. Robin dozed off for a little while too but then woke up unable to fall into a comfortable slumber. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. It was pretty late outside and the room was dark. She noticed that Luffy's blanket had fallen off his body and laid at his feet, covering nothing but the wooden floorboards. So Robin got up to retrieve the blanket. She laid it over the little boy, making sure to cover his shoulders so he wouldn't get cold. As she made her way back to her mat, she realized that Ace wasn't in the room. _Did he get up while we were sleeping? Where could he have gone now?_ Still a little worried due to Ace's silent behavior from earlier, Robin decided to go and look for him. Climbing down the ladder, she started her search.

As the trees became less dense after half an hour of walking, Robin realized she was heading towards a clearing where the terrain ended. She could hear the loud nighttime waves crashing against the jagged rocks at the bottom, and figured this was a cliff side. As she came closer to the clearing, she could see the dark ocean stretch far away from her. And sitting at the very edge was none other than the person she was searching for.

Robin looked at Ace's hunched form as his t-shirt blew in the cold evening wind. Ace's disheveled hair swayed in the breeze, but the rest of his body remain still, his shoulders stiff as he sat looking out. Was this where Ace went to find peace, an open refuge that can liberate him from troubling thoughts? Was he in some deep distress and needed space to think? Robin wondered how often Ace would come here and stare at the ocean by himself. Robin decided to approach Ace after long deliberation. She walked up from behind him slowly, waiting to see if she was unwelcomed. Ace heard her approach but didn't move. He kept his eyes fix on the dark scenery in front of him. Now, next to him, Robin sat down and looked out at the ocean too. They sat in silence for a short while.

"Thank you for saving me today," Robin said softly.

"You helped us escape. It was only fair," Ace replied.

Despite trying to down play the whole ordeal, it was clear from the way Ace fought those men that there was more to it than just returning a favor. Something had caused him to blow up. Robin was curious as to what that was, but she wasn't sure if she should ask. She didn't want to push Ace into sharing nor pry into his life. Out of the three boys, Ace was the least open.

"I hate cry babies," Ace said suddenly, surprising Robin.

"Huh?" Robin was confused. At first, she didn't understand what he was talking about. But then she remembered she had been crying when Ace, Sabo, and Luffy showed up. There was this half-second Ace had glanced at her and his face twisted slightly as their eyes met, right before the fight broke out.

"Crying shows you're weak," Ace continued. "Don't cry when people tell you the world is better off without you."

Ace had a hard look on his face as he said this. But still, he didn't look at Robin. She wondered how much of that was really directed towards her. It almost sounded like he was saying it to himself. She wondered what sort of life Ace had and who would want him to disappear? He was a troublemaker but he wasn't a wanted criminal like her. Well, at least not yet.

Still hesitant to pry, Robin only nodded her head, figuring Ace could see it through his peripheral vision. Looking up at Ace, Robin admired his fortitude. Sure he was rough and hard to get to know, but the resoluteness in his words and in the way he fought for her that day made her see him in a different light.

"Good," he said. His shoulders relaxed. Robin and Ace fell into silence once again as they went back to gazing at the night sky and letting their thoughts wonder. Neither of them knew what kind of bond had formed between them. But, whatever is happening, Robin felt they both had more in common than they may realize.

* * *

With a bandaged face and a crutch to lean on, the bandana man limped into the room.

"Nice face," someone in the background snickered.

"Shut up!" the bandana man growled, showing the new gaps between his teeth. These were the consequences of provoking a hot-tempered 10-year-old.

"So you got beat up by those brats too?" A long bang sounded as a large fist hit the tabletop.

"Sorry Boss," the bandana man lowered his head.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now?"

"Because I have good news."

"And what's that?"

"I think I've found that rich guy's kid"

"Is that so?" Captain Bluejam, the man whom the bandana guy just referred to as 'Boss', tapped his fingers together with amused consideration.

"Yeah. We should make a phone call to his rich papa now."

"Oh, we will. Soon… After he gets a little more desperate."

"But, Boss. The money!"

"Don't worry. We'll get more out of that self-righteous noble. Not only that, we're going to get all the money we lost and more."

A sinister smile crept onto Bluejam's face as he lifted a picture to his face. A youthful blonde boy smiled back at him, wearing a school uniform with a white buttoned shirt and suspenders.

 _Let them have their fun,_ Bluejam thought _. It'll make revenge that much sweeter when I tear their little crew apart._

* * *

A/N: And that's Chapter 4! Thanks for reading! I wanted to make Sabo more of a caring and encouraging brother while Ace a really protective one. Let me know what you guys think!


	5. Chapter 5: Stay

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry I've been mia for like the past few months. This year has been a bit crazy. Anyways, I'm back. I hope this chapter will have a lot less grammar mistakes than the past chapters since I had someone read it over and catch the spelling mistakes this time! Thanks for following and reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Stay**

"Gomu Gomu no… PISTOL!"

Robin didn't need to jump away to avoid the rubbery fist coming at her. She knew this was pretty much the only attack Luffy could do and has still yet to perfect. If it were a marine or some nasty adult, this would be about the time when Robin would use her powers to escape. Or if it were one of the kids from Ohara, she'd might have knocked them lightly on the head with a phantom fist. But this was Luffy, the adorably wild, little boy she couldn't imagine herself hurting. So she sprouted a multitude arms around the boy and began tickling him. Luffy fell over laughing hysterically trying to crawl away from the limbs but failed.

From the sidelines Ace smacked his face with his hand, clearly frustrated by the sight of Robin and Luffy.

"That's not fighting!" He yelled. "We're supposed to be training. Tickling isn't going to work against someone who's out to get you."

Sitting next to Ace, Sabo just sighed and shook his head.

After everything that had happened it was clear to Robin that she needed more than just her wits. There were people who'd be looking to capture her and she had to be ready for them. She _needed_ to get stronger. So, when Sabo suggested the boys have another training day Robin asked if she could join in.

At first, Sabo looked hesitant. It was one thing to fight Luffy and Ace, but it was another thing to fight a girl. Despite having run away from his high class and civilized home, there were still a few mannerisms that Sabo respected and upheld. If he learned anything from the etiquette classes that his parents forced him into, it would be this: A boy should _never_ hit a girl. But, he knew it was necessary for Robin to protect herself in case anybody came after her, so he didn't object. Luffy, unlike Sabo, was ecstatic about the idea. The fact that another devil fruit user was going to train with them made him giddy with excitement. Ace agreed as well, saying that if Robin wanted to run around with them then she had to get tough.

They had awoken early that morning and headed towards the small clearing where the boys sparred. To put it simply, Robin was nervous. She didn't know what she had gotten herself into when she asked to fight them. She just wanted to be able to defend herself. Sadly, tickling Luffy during a supposedly serious sparring match was not going to be much help in that department.

Sabo noticed how focused Ace was on Robin and Luffy's match. The way he crossed his arms and scrunched his eyebrows at the scene. Ace had been tense ever since the incident with the bandana guy. He had started treating Robin differently, which was actually sort of a good thing. Before, Sabo was the one to ask Robin if she would like to join them for a meal, go hunting, or just run around in the woods while Ace would stand there saying nothing. Now, it seemed like Ace was always insisting on her following them wherever they went. He'd chose to walk behind the group rather than in front. Which was odd since he loved looking like the leader. And his eyes would wander in every direction like he was anticipating some lurking threat. Sabo often wondered if he should bring up his brother's peculiar behavior but thought it was better to just leave it. If Ace was finally caring about other people then it can't be a bad thing.

Right now, Ace looked upset. He had agreed to the idea of Robin training with them mostly because he was tired of looking out for suspicious people everywhere they went. He couldn't help but think that if Robin didn't get stronger or if he wasn't paying attention again, then some greedy bastard would be able to take her away and turn her over to the government for a fat reward. The idea of that happening bothered him more than anything. He just couldn't shake what the stupid bandana guy said the other day.

Robin could see the irritation on Ace's face and her arms disappeared into petals, leaving Luffy panting on the ground from all the laughing. "I'm sorry. I just…" Robin's voice trailed off. She knew that this wasn't helping. She was afraid to hit Luffy, but she shouldn't be. "I'll be serious from now on," she said looking at Ace resolutely.

Next, she fought against Sabo, who had been too afraid of hurting her and went a bit easy. He didn't even use his metal staff. The fight ended with Sabo winning of course. Robin came out with barely a scratch.

Ace was the last to fight her. When he said he wasn't going to be as easy on her as Sabo, he wasn't kidding. Right at the start, he went after her with his staff. With Ace trying to hit her swing after swing, Robin barely had anytime to react or summon her Hana Hana powers. All she could do was dodge the metal as fast as she could. She managed to avoid the first few strikes, but Ace finally landed a blow. The metal struck her shoulder and she was knocked to the side into the dirt. When she got up she was clutching her shoulder and Ace was already running towards her again. Hurriedly, she summoned hands out of the ground to grab onto Ace's ankles, but the boy saw it coming and jumped high into the air out of their reach. He brought his staff up over his head ready to strike Robin from the air. Just as he was about to land a big blow, Sabo ran in front of her with his arms spread out.

"Ace! Stop!" Sabo yelled, standing protectively in front of Robin.

Ace landed on the ground clutching his staff next to him. "Sabo, you can't interrupt!" Ace yelled back.

"You're being too rough!"

"She's not going to get stronger if we baby her!"

"This is her first time! She needs to ease into this!"

"We never went easy on Luffy when he started training with us!"

"That's different!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"YOU WANT ROBIN TO GET KIDNAPPED AGAIN?!" Ace screamed.

There was a pause. Fuming, Ace turned and started walking away. Luffy ran after him, calling for him to come back. Sabo stood there and did nothing for a moment. When both Ace and Luffy disappeared from view, Sabo let out a sigh and turned to Robin who was still standing behind him.

"Is your shoulder okay?" Sabo asked. He wasn't looking at her.

"Uh… yeah…" Robin almost forgot about her injury despite that she was clutching the area where Ace had struck her. She had been too stunned at the sight of Sabo and Ace arguing. Usually, it was Luffy and Ace who'd argue while Sabo acted as the intermediary. She placed a hand on Sabo's shoulder causing him to look up. "Sabo, I think Ace is right. You shouldn't go easy on me."

Sabo looked at her for a moment, then scrunched his face in thought. He knew Ace had a point. But, he had been taught that a boy should never hit a girl. And even though he disagreed with his parents about almost everything, he still stood by that rule. Something about it just felt wrong. Like somehow it was more immoral to fight a girl than it was to fight a boy. But, this was something he'd have to push aside if he was going continue to let Robin train with them.

Sighing, Sabo said, "Maybe I was being too protective."

Robin smiled softly. Things with Sabo were always easy. He was someone who would be willing to look at things from multiple perspectives. He would listen to what you thought and try to understand how you feel. Ace, on the other hand, was way more stubborn and impulsive.

"But, I still think he was being too rough," Sabo said.

"Or I'm just too weak," Robin said as she sat down and hugged her knees. Sabo sat down next to her.

"You're not weak."

"If you didn't think so, then why did you hesitate so much during our match?"

"I…" Sabo fell silent.

"You looked like you were afraid to hit me. As if I don't know what it's like to be hit." Robin spoke these words softly remembering how her aunt used to beat her.

"I just think it's wrong to hit a girl," Sabo said, a bit exasperated. This made Robin chuckle. It always surprised her how well-mannered Sabo was. It was a quality that set him apart from the others.

"You're really considerate, Sabo. And you have good manners. Sometimes I wonder where you get it from."

Sabo was silent.

"You're not like Ace and Luffy. That day in town, I noticed… how you kind of dress like the nobles. Do you…" Robin paused, a bit hesitant to go on.

"It's okay. You don't have to be afraid to ask," Sabo sighed. He knew Robin wasn't an idiot. It'd only be a matter of time before she'd find out. Not wanting to keep secrets Sabo told Robin the whole story. From how his parents didn't love him, to when he fought with a kid from the royal family, to how he ended up running away and befriending Ace. At first Robin couldn't understand how anybody could leave their parents with such ease. Robin never really got to know her mom and she always wished for a place she could call home. But, as she listened to Sabo's story she realized how empty and unloving his home had been.

"I know you lost your mom, Robin. And I'm sorry for that. You probably think I should appreciate the fact that my mom is still alive. But, having parents that don't love you is like not having parents at all," Sabo said when he finished his story. His fists clenched tightly together.

"Sabo…" Robin put her hand over his causing him to relax. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I don't blame you for wanting to leave that place."

"Thanks," he said.

Looking at the ground, Robin said, "You know… I wish I were more like you guys."

"What do you mean?"

"You're all so strong and brave. Even Luffy."

"So are you. You were a lot of help that day in town."

"That's cause I felt safe with you guys around. When I got thrown into that bag I was so terrified I couldn't do anything. But, you're never scared. You guys came and fought them." Robin looked at Sabo now. "I don't want to be scared anymore, Sabo. I want to fight and be strong, too."

Sabo understood and he was proud of her for saying that. Her determination dissolved any other reservations he had in his head. He sprang to his feet with new found grit.

"Okay. I won't go easy anymore. And I'm going to help you the best that I can," Sabo declared. "But first, I have to talk to Ace."

* * *

When Robin and Sabo found Ace, he was throwing rocks at a pond. Luffy was laying on the ground next to him tired from chasing after his big brother. Sabo asked to talk to Ace alone while Robin sat next to Luffy.

"Robin?" Luffy spoke up suddenly.

"Hm? Yes, Luffy?" Robin looked over to see he was sitting up.

"How much training did it take for you to control your devil fruit?"

Robin thought for a moment. "I don't really know. I never thought much about it. It just sort of came naturally. Normally, I try to refrain from using my powers because I don't want to be made fun of."

Luffy frown at her response which confused her. "I keep practicing my pistol attack but I can never get it to go straight. But, you can grow a bunch of arms and use them all perfectly fine!" Luffy yelled at her. At first, Robin thought Luffy might be upset because he was jealous that she could use her powers so effortlessly. But then he continued. "I heard that if you train your devil fruit power, it gets more powerful and you'll be able to find more ways to use it. Now, you're telling me that you tried to hide it?! You probably could've beat Ace and Sabo if you didn't do that!"

 _So that's why he's angry with me,_ Robin realized. Luffy wasn't the jealous type. He'd never get angry just because someone was better at something than he was. Luffy was upset because Robin had wasted so much time hiding an ability that she should have been proud of and should have been cultivating. To know that someone with so much potential and not utilize it, annoyed Luffy to no end. Robin thought about all the times she'd used her devil fruit. It had only ever been for self-defense. Restraining people's movements and covering their eyes so she could escape if she had to. The only time she ever attacked anybody was that guard on the marine ship. After that incident, she never wanted to think about hurting anyone again. Tickling Luffy was the only other offensive "attack" she had tried since then, which wasn't really an attack. Robin realized that she'd have to find more direct or forceful ways to use her devil fruit if she wanted to get better. She'd have to put aside how she felt and really fight.

"You're right Luffy. I'll work harder to train my devil fruit power." Robin said with a smile. This statement calmed him down.

Smiling back, he said, "We'll both train together. And I'll get stronger and beat up Ace!"

"Who are you going to beat up?!" Ace's voice rang from behind them. A fist hit Luffy's head before the boy could respond.

"Ow!" Luffy cried and fell over.

"Fufufu," Robin laughed as she patted Luffy's head lightly. "Did you two finish talking?"

"Yeah," Ace answered.

Ace and Sabo came to an agreement that Robin should continue training with them and Ace wouldn't have to go easy on her. But, since Robin was so new to fighting, they agreed that it was best she built her strength up before they sparred again. Both of them were going to help her the best they can.

In the following weeks, Ace took Robin through the rough terrain of Mt. Corvo. They jumped passed giant crocodiles, avoided getting swept by rushing waters, and climbed their way up cliffs and mountain sides. Ace overcame each obstacle with ease while Robin struggled to make it through unscathed. The first time they went through the course Robin was almost eaten by a crocodile. Ace had to dive into the river and pull her out. Trying to keep up with Ace was difficult but she was determined. Luckily, Ace was always there to help her when she fell or lost her footing. He pushed her to move faster and fight harder every time. After a few weeks, Robin was pretty used to the harsh terrain and giant beasts. She wasn't as afraid anymore and she met each challenge with composed confidence.

Not wanting to butt heads with Ace, Sabo didn't join them in their obstacle training. Him and Luffy helped Robin in other ways. After having been lectured by Luffy, Robin had told Sabo how she wanted to make better use of her devil fruit. Despite not being a devil fruit user himself, Sabo was creative and had a lot of ideas. Since Luffy wanted to train with Robin because they were both devil fruit users, Luffy and Robin spent their afternoons together with Sabo overseeing their progress. While Ace always put Luffy's devil fruit power down for being lame and un-useful, Sabo was always encouraging and supporting the little boy. So this was a good fit.

"I've only ever seen you sprout arms out of inanimate objects and maybe some hands to block people's eyes. Have you ever tried growing more of them out of people's bodies?" Sabo asked Robin one morning. "If you can do that, then you can do lots of cool attacks. Like putting them in a hold or twisting their bodies! Something cool."

Robin inwardly cringed. It reminded her of that guard's twisted neck on the marine ship. It had been a moment of desperation for her. She wanted to be able to fight but she wasn't ready to do anything that drastic again.

"Uhh… Sabo-kun, I'm not sure I'm up for that kind of thing," Robin mumbled.

"That's okay. Let's try something simpler," Sabo said. "Can you replicate other parts of your body?"

"Like what?" Robin asked.

"Anything! I've read that the Hana Hana fruit allows you to replicate any part of the body like a flower or plant does."

"Ooooh! Make a third eye or something Robin! Like a Cyclops!" Luffy suggested eagerly.

"Ok I'll try." Concentrating, Robin made a third eye appear on her forehead. Luffy fell backwards laughing at the three eyelids blinking at him.

"Shi shi shi! You look funny!" Luffy laughed. "Now me! Now me!"

After making her third eye disappear into petals, Robin made a bunch of eyes appear on Luffy's face. His cheeks, his forehead, and even his neck was covered with Robin's big blue orbs. Luffy turned his head slowly to look at Sabo, who cringed and jumped back. The sight was unnerving. After that, Sabo suggested Robin try other things, like growing a mouth on his shoulder and whispering to him or growing ears on a wall to eavesdrop on conversations. This was quite a revelation for Robin. She had never thought about trying out her powers like this before. Finding so many new ways to utilize her Hana Hana no mi Robin was beginning to feel more comfortable in her own skin. She even had a little fun with it. Like the time they went to visit Dadan after one of their sessions. Luffy had convinced her to sprout a bunch of eyes on Ace's face without telling him. When Dadan opened the door, she nearly had a heart attack and fainted. Some of the bandits even screamed and ran away. Luffy, Robin, and Sabo snickered in the background watching Ace's confused expression. When Ace finally looked into a mirror he started yelling and chased them around the cabin. Although it was Robin who had pranked him, he didn't tackle her like he did Luffy and Sabo. He figured it had to be their idea in the first place.

Robin finally felt at home in the forest. She was able to keep up with Ace when they ran through the training route. She was comfortable using her devil fruit power and practiced it often. She joined the brothers on their daily hunt for food. It felt like she had been with them forever.

Soon enough, it was time for another sparring day. Unlike last time, Robin was excited. She was ready to see how she would fare against the three brothers after all her hard work. She watched from the sidelines as Ace, Sabo, and Luffy took turns fighting each other. Still preparing herself and calming her nerves, Robin had told them she'd fight each of them last. She watched intently as they faced each other off. Each of them determined and confident like always.

Finally, it was her turn. Again, Robin versed Luffy first. The little boy grinned happily as he took his stance facing Robin. He had worked just as hard as she did. Now his hand stretched farther when he punched forward. He also had better control of his arm so that it rarely ricochets back towards his face anymore. It was honestly a huge improvement. But, there were still a few kinks in his technique. Luffy still had a hard time keeping his balance and his aim could use some work. Robin knew she could use this weakness to her advantage. It wasn't hard for her to use her Hana Hana no mi to catch him off guard and trip him. Just a little push and Luffy lost his balance as he stretched his arm out. His fist flew just over Robin's head and she grabbed onto the elastic forearm above her and yanked hard. The little boy came flying forward and hit the dirt face first. Robin giggled lightly at her victory while Luffy pouted and went to the side.

Robin watched Sabo walk determinedly onto the field. He made up his mind that he wasn't going to waste time hesitating like he did last time. She shot him a smile and crossed her arms in front of her in preparation. Before Sabo could do anything, everything turned black as soft fingers clasped over his eyes. Sabo could hear about a dozen feet stomping on the ground all around him and the loud swishing sound of shaking leaves from every direction. _So her technique is distraction and confusion, huh? Pretty smart,_ Sabo thought. Disorientated from the mass of noises, Sabo grabbed onto the hands and pulled in an attempt to pry off her phantom fingers. It was harder than he thought it'd be. Suddenly, all the noises stopped and her fingers disappeared.

"Find me if you can, Sabo," a soft whisper tickled his left ear.

Finally able to see again, Sabo spun his head around frantically scanning the area for his opponent. Robin was nowhere in sight. The mouth on his left shoulder also disappeared into petals. Sabo turned towards his brothers and was given a you're-not-getting-any-help-from-me look. _Very clever Robin… Now where can you be hiding. If you're not down here, maybe you're -_ Sabo looked up just in time to see a hand that extended out of a chain of other hands come at him. He ducked his head out of the way and with both hands, he grabbed onto the arm and tugged downward as hard as he could.

"Aaahhh!" Robin screamed. She hadn't made her arms disappear in time and was flung off from the tall branch above Sabo. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.

"Oof!" Opening her eyes, Robin realized she had landed in a bush. Trying to pull herself out, she realized she was stuck, her legs were tangled in the mess of curvy branches. She made to summon more arms. But Sabo was fast. He rushed at her, then jumped into the air and slammed into her from above and she sunk deeper into the branches.

"Hahahaa! That was easier than I expected!" Sabo said getting off of her and then helping her out of the mess. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Thank, Sabo-kun," Robin said letting him pull her out. She began taking leaves and branches out of her hair with Sabo's help.

"Always the gentleman, Sabo." Ace shook his head as he walked onto the field. "Ok, it's my turn!"

Robin knew Ace loved to attack head on. She prepared to assemble a mirage of limbs in front her to protect herself and catch him when he took off. With a smirk plastered on his face, Ace made a quick dive to the side and eluded the limbs that tried to grab him. He made a sharp turn and sprinted towards Robin again. His eyebrows furrowed. Robin hadn't moved a from her spot at all. Last time, all she could do against him was dodge and run away. Now, Robin knew she'd have to do something different. Instead of trying to get away, she stood tall with her arms crossed and gave him a wink. Confused as he was, Ace didn't slow his pace. He was prepared to tackle her when suddenly arms sprouted out of his body causing Ace to pause in shock. The phantom limbs wrapped around him, holding his arms to his sides and his legs together. Ace wiggled around with a frown on his face. He growled in annoyance when he heard light giggling from his opponent. There had to be a way to loosen her grip.

"Ow!" Robin cried as a sharp pain shot up her arm. Whatever hurt her felt slimy and wet.

Ace's teeth clasped tightly onto one of Robin's phantom limbs and he was biting down hard. Robin pursed her lips and glared at Ace as she tried to steady her concentration. They stared each other down, with Robin trying her best to tighten her hold and Ace biting harder to free himself. She was handling the pain pretty well until Ace started grinding his teeth against her arm. She couldn't hold it in anymore. Robin let out a painful squeal and her phantom arms vanished into petals. Ace didn't waste any time now. He tackled Robin to the ground and quickly pinned her arms to the sides to prevent her from summoning any more limbs. Robin struggled but soon gave up knowing that Ace was too strong for her thin little arms.

Sabo made another mark next to Ace's name on the wooden chart. They were all sitting in front of the score board. Robin wiped Ace's drool off her arm with her dress and examined the rigid bite mark. Boy does Ace have sharp teeth.

"Hah! Ace and I tied this time!" Sabo said as he sat down.

"I'll beat you next time, Sabo," Ace said crossing his arms.

It's unclear who the winner was in their match, so they had decided on a tie. Everyone had gotten stronger since the last time they sparred and they were all tired. In their tattered and sweat drenched clothing, Robin and the boys left the sparring ring satisfied with their hard training. Well, Luffy was still upset that he couldn't beat Ace in a match, but he was too hungry at this point to whine about it. All he could think about was roasting some yummy animal for dinner.

* * *

They caught an extra large beast that late afternoon and brought it over to Dadan's cabin to share with the other bandits. As usual, it was delicious. After procuring her portion of the meal at the very beginning with her Hana Hana powers, Robin sat with Dadan at the far end of the room watching the boys fight their way towards the pile of meat at the center. Dadan and Robin sipped their tea gingerly ducking once in a while to avoid the flying chunks of meat. Avoiding flying food pretty much became second nature to Robin by now.

"So what are your plans?" Dadan asked.

Robin paused mid-sip.

"Have you decided to stay or are you planning to go look for those old stones?"

"I…." Robin looked at Dadan surprised.

"I overheard you brats talking about them the first day you were here," Dadan said softly. "And about your mom."

"The poneglyphs were her life's work." Robin dropped her head. She hadn't thought much about the poneglyphs lately or what her future plans were. Dadan moved her eyes back to watch the bandits and the boys tussle. Luffy's teeth were clenched around a large chunk of meat and his neck stretched as the bandits tried to pull it out of his mouth. Ace and Sabo were holding his rubber body down and yanking Luffy in the opposite direction.

"Leaving you behind to research something dangerous like that. It must have been tough." Dadan continued, "I didn't think any mother could leave their child. Especially for something illegal."

"History is valuable. It deserves to be discovered even if it's illegal," Robin stated plainly. "Nobody had the guts to do it but her."

In her peripherals Dadan could see Robin. The little girl had this glint in her eyes, a mixture of admiration and sorrow.

"You look up to her, don't you?" Dadan asked.

"I do."

"Enough to follow in her footsteps?"

Robin didn't say anything. When she had escaped that marine ship there were only two things she wanted to do: survive and find the poneglyphs. She has to. It's her dream to uncover their mysteries and it was the best way she could think of to honor her mother. But things were different now. This was the first time in Robin's life that she felt she could be a part of something close enough to a family. She had settled into this carefree life with Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. Their friendship, their protection, their inclusion of her in all their activities weren't things Robin could easily give up.

"Kid, you've had quite an impact on those boys," Dadan said as she poured more tea into her and Robin's cup.

"What do you mean?"

"They're different. Better somehow," Dadan pursed her lips in thought. "And I can tell they love having you around."

"Really?" Robin said with genuine surprise. She had been so grateful to the boys for accepting her into their lives. She loved it here. She hadn't considered how her presence could change anything for them.

"I can't imagine what it would be like for them if you suddenly left," Dadan said before she down her cup.

Robin's eyebrows creased in deep thought. Questions about the future pulled her mind in every direction. There was a decision that needed to be made but Robin didn't want to deal with it right now. She wasn't ready to leave this life. Not so soon.

* * *

Robin scrunched her eyelids when she felt the bright rays flash over her face. No matter which way she turned she couldn't avoid the shining light from the window pane. Surrendering to the vivid yellow beams, Robin sat up and began rubbing her eyes with her fists. She yawned and blinked several times until she was awake enough to register her surroundings.

 _Oh, that's right. We got back late last night since we ate dinner at Dadan's._ Robin looked out the window of the treehouse. The morning sun was up high and there weren't many clouds in the sky at the moment. As she turned to pack her bedding she realized something. It was quiet. She blinked several times looking the room. Three empty bed mats laid on the floor next to hers.

 _Where's Ace, Sabo, and Luffy?_

A note pinned at the entrance of the treehouse caught her attention.

' _Went to the cliffside. Come join us when you're ready. -ASL'_

Robin could hear the ocean birds singing just beyond the trees, which meant she was getting close. She hadn't been to the cliffside since that night she sat there with Ace.

A little voice nagged in her ear. _Why didn't they wake me up?_

When she finally arrived, she found the boys sitting in a semi-circle facing her with grins plastered on their faces.

"Hey guys. What's going on here?" Robin asked suspicious of their smiles. They just looked a little too happy to her.

"Shi shi shi!" Luffy giggled his body bouncing up and down.

Robin noticed Ace rummaging through a brown sack. He took out four little red dishes and laid them in the middle. Lastly, he pulled out a big bottle. Robin quirked her eyebrow.

"Is that Sake?" Robin asked.

"Straight from Dadan's private stash," Ace said proudly.

"Is that for us?" Robin asked. "What if she finds out you stole it?"

"The old hag isn't gonna notice," Ace winked.

"Okay…" Robin said.

"I think we're ready to begin," Sabo said as he stood up. Then he turned to Robin. "A while ago, Ace, Luffy, and I exchanged a bottle of sake and officially became brothers."

Robin merely nodded her head still not sure what this was about. She waited for him to go on.

"And you've been with us for a while now," Sabo continued.

"So, if you want to… well you can…." Ace started but trailed off. He wasn't very good with these things.

"Join our brotherhood!" Luffy cried out unable to hold it in anymore.

"Brotherhood?" Robin's eyes lifted.

"What Luffy means is that we want you to stay with us," Sabo said. "I know that might mean you won't be able to research the poneglyphs. But when we turn 17, we're all going to leave and go to the sea anyways. So we can help you find them then. What do say?" He smiled at her. "Be our sister, Robin."

Robin looked at each of their expectant faces. Her eyes began to water as she let Sabo's words sink in.

"Only if you want to!" Ace added quickly anticipating the girl was about to break down. He hated crybabies. Mostly because he wouldn't know how to handle it if she were to burst into tears. "You don't have to stick around with us if you don't want to." He almost sounded hurt when he said the last part.

"It's not that," Robin said while she wiped her eyes with her arm. Robin realized Dadan had been right. She mattered to them. A lot more than she had ever thought. _Setting back my search for the poneglyphs a few years won't be so bad,_ Robin thought. Then she cast her eyes up at the sky. _Mama. I'm really happy here with Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. I want to stay with them. But, don't worry. I promise I'll fulfill your dream too. I want to find the truth just as much as you did. Just, not right now._

"Why are you crying, Robin? Don't you like us?" Luffy began to pout.

Robin took a big breath and put on a smile. "Of course I like you!" she said to Luffy. "I'm just…. Really happy."

Then a smile so large came onto Luffy's face that his eyes squinted and all this teeth were showing. The right side of Ace's cheek quirked up as well, making a crooked grin on his face.

"So that's a yes?" Sabo asked.

"Yes!" Robin was beaming.

Robin watched as Ace poured the clear liquid into the four red dishes. Following their actions she took the dish in her hand and held it up to the middle of the group.

"With this exchanging of sake, we will officially be brothers and sister! From today and onward Robin is one of us!" Sabo announced and threw back the liquid.

The sake burned the back of Robin's throat. It's not like she's ever had alcohol before so she didn't know what to expect. She coughed a little and the tingling feeling subsided. For the rest of the afternoon Robin, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy hung out at the cliffside, staring at the clouds and ocean dreaming about the future. It was peaceful at first. But, it didn't take long for Luffy and Ace to launch into another heated argument.

"My crew it going to be waaaay stronger than yours!" Luffy cried waving his fists up and down.

"How can your crew be stronger than mine when their captain is a weak little crybaby!?" Ace yelled back.

"Grrrr! I am not a crybaby!" Luffy screamed.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

Sabo sighed to himself while Robin giggled at the exchange.

"Guys, can't we get through one afternoon without fighting?" Sabo asked. "Robin just became out sister. We're suppose to be celebrating."

Ace and Luffy both crossed their arms and turned away from each other. Sabo sweatdropped at their stubborn attitudes.

"Fufufu. It's okay Sabo. They wouldn't be themselves if they didn't fight," Robin said.

"Robin! You don't think I'm a crybaby right?!" Luffy asked.

"Luffy, you are one of the bravest little boys I know," Robin answered.

"See Ace! Robin says I'm brave!" Luffy stuck his tongue out at his brother. "That's why she's going to be the first member of my crew when I set out to become the pirate king!"

"Please! How can she in a crew where she's stronger than the captain," Ace smirked, "If anything, she'll be joining my crew."

Robin blinked at their words and tilted her head.

"What makes you think she'll be joining your crew and not mine?" Now Sabo started to get in on the debate.

"Cause I'll be setting sail first. Duh!"

"You and I are the same age. Besides, I'm smarter so I'll be way more help with her research than you." Sabo argued.

Ace was about to argue back when Robin cut in. "Wait, you guys are forming separate pirate crews? Why not just create one and travel together?"

"We've had this debate a long time ago," Sabo sighed. "None of us want to give up being the leader. So the only way around that is to all be captains of our own crew."

As the boys continued to argue, Robin just sat at watched with a content smile on her face. It didn't matter to her who she'd follow in the future. She was just happy that they'd even want her to go along with them on their adventure to sea. It seemed like everything was finally falling into place. She had brothers now. Brothers who would train with her, protect her, and vow to help her with finding the poneglyphs. Washing up onto that beach was the best thing that could have ever happened to Robin.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it!


	6. Chapter 6: A Place of My Own

**A/N: Hello ASL fans! I've been slow with the updates, I know. Sorry! But don't worry! I have not abandoned the story. It's just taking a while to do my updates. I usually have like half of a chapter done really fast, and it just sits there unfinished on the computer for a while, until I get the guts to go back and actually finish it.**

 **Still, I really happy that you guys are still enjoying my story and are leaving reviews and comments! That's really encouraging especially during writers block. And I know some of you have been asking question about what** **'s going to happen and whose crew Robin will chose. But sorry, I can't answer those questions! You'll just have to see.**

 **Anyways... THANK YOU again, and here is the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

Chapter 6: A Place of My Own

Coming out of Fusha village, Robin felt like she had spent the afternoon in a dream. So far, everyone Robin has met were pretty rough around the edges. And really, it's just the mountain bandits. That's why, when Robin first heard about this Makino woman, she imagined her to be something like another Dadan. Robin always thought Dadan's relationship with the boys was a rather comical one and that she'd be the closest thing to a mother-figure they had, even if the boys only thought of her as an old hag. But Robin soon realized that the Dadan and Makino were nothing alike.

When Luffy introduced Makino that morning, Robin was caught off guard. Never before had an adult greeted Robin with a truly genuine smile. The cheery lady looked so kind, Robin almost didn't know how to respond. She was much more use to Dadan's scowling expressions or the glares the adults in O'hara gave her.

Robin looked down at Luffy standing happily next to Makino. The smile on his face made her relax, and Robin found the words she needed. She introduced herself and thanked Makino for the dresses from before.

The rest of the afternoon was smooth sailing. Makino asked them to stay for lunch, at which point, Luffy began jumping up and down excitedly at the mention of food.

Sitting at the counter next to Luffy, Ace, and Sabo, Robin began to really see the difference between Makino and Dadan. For one, Makino was smaller and a lot gentler with her words and her actions. She also seemed to have this peaceful and loving disposition about her. Not that Robin thought Dadan didn't love the boys. Dadan just had a different way of showing it.

Makino giggled at their silly antics and listened intently to their wild stories. She made them a delicious meal and had seconds ready before Luffy even finished scarfing down his first portion. And when the boys were being loud and fought with each other, Makino didn't get frustrated. To Robin, Makino seemed absolutely amazing. She was like the mother Robin always wish she had: patient, kind, and loving. It made her wonder if her mom was anything like this woman, smiling and cooking before her.

After a few servings, Luffy was stuffed. His stomach expanded 5 times his normal size and he fell over on the floor and huffed a breath of exhaustion. Sabo and Ace had slowed down too not having to battle it out with Luffy for another helping anymore. With the boys finally in quieter mood, Makino was able to get to know Robin more. Realizing the little girl liked to read, Makino gave her a few books along with another small sack of clothes. It wasn't until Robin talked about her living situation that Makino looked a little uneasy. ' _It's probably fine for now, but what would it be like when the kids grow a little bit older, and_ _ **things**_ _start to change?'_ Makino thought. The older woman considered how nice and reserved Robin seemed and decided to make a suggestion. And this became the reason for Luffy's pouting as the four made their way back to the base.

"I don't see why Robin can't live with us," Luffy whined as he trudged behind his brothers.

"Makino didn't say that, Luffy." Sabo said. "She just meant that Robin should have her own room to sleep in."

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Because she's a girl," Sabo stated.

"I don't get it," Luffy said with a pout and crossed his arms.

Sabo didn't know how to explain it to his little brother. Even he wasn't a hundred percent sure about why himself. Sabo only knew that the etiquette tutors his parents hired always warned him about the proper and improper interactions between boys and girls. Even then, Sabo hadn't thought much about it since he broke most of their ridiculously strict rules anyway. The fact that Makino, who's usually so lenient and understanding, suggested Robin have her own space made Sabo think there's probably a good reason behind it.

"It doesn't matter. We need more room in the treehouse anyway." Ace said.

This was true. Space wasn't much of an issue when Robin first stayed over. The base was still fairly new back then, and the boys didn't have much besides their metal staffs and their blankets. But as time went on, the one room treehouse started to clutter up. Most of it was stuff the boys collected from the junk piles in the Grey Terminal. Ever since they helped that old pirate captain rebuild his ship, they figured they should have things ready for their own ship in the future. After a while, pieces of broken wood and metal parts laid everywhere.

On top of that, Luffy kept trying to bring wild animals back to keep as a pets. This always annoyed Ace because, for some reason, the creatures Luffy favor always end up messing up Ace's stuff.

Like the one time Luffy brought home this furry brown creature that to this day, Robin hasn't figured out what species it was. It should have been a sign that this _thing_ was not meant to be domesticated when it snarled and nipped at Luffy with it's sharp teeth when he tried to touch it. But Luffy thought it was funny and he seemed totally unfazed by the angry glare the animal gave him. He picked the little guy up and protested that they should keep it even though the animal kept trying to bite and claw its way out of the little boy's arms.

Over the span of a week, the creature, whom Luffy named "Bitey", managed to chew up all of Ace's clothes and rip the stuffing out of his pillow. Sabo even had to defended Luffy when Ace attempted to murder his little brother after Bitey woke him up by peeing on his face one morning. But soon, even Sabo had to agree that Bitey had to go. They had come home from a hunt and found the place completely trashed. And the culprit, Bitey, was lying in the middle of the room, chewing on one of Sabo's spare boots. Robin felt bad for Luffy when they finally released Bitey back into the forest. Although, she had to agree with Sabo and Ace. The wild is where Bitey belonged.

But even if Luffy stopped bringing back animals, there was the issue with the books. Of course Robin only owned one book when she first washed up onto the island. But she soon found that Sabo had a small collection of novels hidden away in a chest. He didn't like school and he didn't like his old teachers, but he still liked reading. And now that Robin decided to stay, Sabo thought they could expand their library together.

Arriving back at the base, the four kids looked at the state of their one room home.

"It would be nice if we had more space for our stuff," Sabo stated trying push some junk out of the way.

From the doorway, Ace jumped onto another thick branch with a slightly higher elevation that grew off the truck, adjacent to the treehouse. He knocked against the wood and applied pressure onto the branch with his foot. Then he jumped up and down a few times to test the strength.

"This one's pretty steady," Ace said. "What do you think, Robin?"

Robin looked from up at Ace, who was sitting on the ledge, to Luffy's pouting face. She hadn't voiced her opinion on the matter yet, and the boys were waiting on an answer. After all, she's the main reason they're even having this discussion. She saw the benefits of changing up the living arrangements but she didn't want to upset Luffy.

"Luffy, you won't be angry if I stayed in another room would you?"

"I just want all my brothers to be with me." Luffy crossed his arms and huffed.

Sabo sighed. "Robin is a _sister_ , Luffy." He could never get that clarification right.

Robin giggled. "Luffy, I'll still be here. Just not at night."

Luffy scrunched his face.

Seeing that he needed a little more convincing, Robin said, "Luffy, I promise that you can come over to play whenever you want."

"Really?" Luffy's face lit up.

"Mhmm." Robin nodded

"You know, we can probably add a bridge between our rooms too," Sabo said.

The little boy considered the idea for a moment, before he turned his head up towards Robin. Grinning widely, he gave her a big thumbs up.

The four kids began working on the new addition to the treehouse the very next day. Ace and Luffy chopped down trees for the wood flooring, and they took some metal parts they already had and made a frame for a window. Sabo even drew out a plan.

"We can make this entire side of the wall into a bookshelf. Oh, and the door can go here by the bridge that'll connect our rooms. Then the window can go on this side, facing Goa Kingdom so you can have a view of the palace."

Robin stared at the plan over Sabo's shoulder as he continued to ramble out his ideas and draw pictures on the diagram of what would be her new place. She kept a calm expression on as she listened to Sabo, but on the inside she was riddled with excitement. _My own room._ It didn't matter how many times Robin repeated the words. They felt wonderful and strangely foreign to say. She imagine it was like how one might feel having tried a new flavor of sweet candy for the first time. The idea of finally have a place that was hers made the whole planning process a bit surreal.

Each day the boys would go gather supplies and come back to work. Robin would help prepare food or pass tools around with her powers. And each day she would look up at the treehouse and smile. The big forest, her new brothers, the half-done bedroom; she took it all in with her eyes, hoping she would never have to know a life without them again.

It didn't take long for the boys to have the floors done, three walls ups, and the bridge built (since Luffy insisted that it had to be one of the first things they finished). All that was left was the bookshelf-wall, which was half complete, and the roof.

It was hot on the day the boys decided to complete the last wall and the book shelf. But by high noon, Ace realized that there wasn't much material left to get the rest of the job done.

"Let's go pick up a few things and finish tomorrow, Luffy" Ace said wiping his forehead.

They climbed down the trunk and saw Sabo and Robin coming towards them. Sabo had two large fish tied to his back and Robin was carrying a basket of berries.

"Where are you going?" Robin asked as she set basket aside and helped Sabo unload the fish.

"The Grey Terminal. It doesn't look like we can finish your room today. Sorry, Robin." Ace said.

"That's okay," Robin said. "Why don't I come with you?"

The boys froze. A happy smile flashed across Luffy's face before realization dawned on him. His face fell and he pursed his lips together like he was trying his best not to talk. Of course he'd love for Robin to come but he remembered what happened last time. He never said it, but he blamed himself for her kidnapping.

"What?" Robin tilted her head at them.

"You should stay here with Sabo," Ace finally replied. Crossing his arms, he tried his best to look composed.

"But I want to help. I can carry things for us." Robin demonstrated with a wave of hands growing out of the ground that disappeared into petals a second later.

"We don't need help."

Robin looked boldly up at Ace. She wasn't stupid. Ever since her kidnapping, they'd been avoiding shady places like the Grey Terminal. Usually, they'd suggest to split the group up. Like sending Luffy and Robin to pick fruit while Ace and Sabo dug through junk piles. Once, Ace even asked Robin to hunt with him so Sabo and Luffy could run an errand in town. She was grateful that they cared for her safety, but they can't protect her forever. Wasn't that the point of her training with them?

Robin resolved in her mind that she had to go. They had to see that she would be fine. That they didn't have to hover over her. That she can fend for herself. It was something she needed to prove.

Ace's shoulder was tense and Sabo could tell he was struggling. Their eyes met and the same thought crossed their minds. _She has that look on her face._

Robin had never been a particularly difficult person to deal with. She was polite and sweet and went along with pretty much anything. Though, she's changed quite a bit in the recent weeks. Now, Robin looked calm and composed when faced with deadly threats. A few times, she even ran head on into battle with Ace against the forest's big beasts, instead of standing on the sidelines. There was a growing sense of fearlessness in the way she trotted through the forest as if she'd been there her entire life. Her laugh sounded louder, happier, like everyday was Christmas, and nothing could take her joy away. It occurred to Sabo that with each passing day, Robin was slowly shedding away the shy and hesitant girl who ran away from him scared only months earlier. Little by little, she became like them. A little stronger. A little more comfortable. A little more daring. Sabo looked from Ace to Robin, and thought how similar they seemed in that moment.

"We'll all go together," Sabo said suddenly.

Ace's eyebrow twitched slightly, but he kept calm. "Fine," he said, before turning and walking away from them. Ace knew that once his brother decides to side with Robin, there's nothing he can do. Robin smiled at Sabo as a show of thanks before being pulled into a conversation with Luffy as she followed behind. Sabo sighed and ran to catch up with Ace.

In a voice low enough for only Ace to hear, Sabo said, "She's bound to go to the Grey Terminal eventually." No reply. Ace continued to fix his eyes forward.

"She'll be fine," Sabo said.

"You don't know that."

"You and I will make sure of it."

Ace huffed at the answer. But he nodded his head in agreement.

Before they entered the Grey Terminal, the boys made Robin put on a black cloak with the hood pulled over her head. It hasn't been that long since Robin last saw the mountain piles of trash, but the sight and stench still hit her senses with a punch. Soon, Robin recognized the path they were on. This was the spot where her and Luffy encountered the bad men who took her. Her eyes scanned the area and she almost jumped at the squeal of a nearby crow. She tugged her hood further down. Breathing deeply, Robin reminded herself why she asked to come along. She had to prove that they don't need to worry about her.

The old junky car still sat in the same dusty spot, its windshield shattered from when Luffy fell into it after the bandana man knocked him away. Luffy gazed at the broken glass as he walked by. His eyebrows furrowed together and he mentally made a vow to become stronger.

* * *

A man looking through a pair of binoculars zoomed in on the four kids from a high trash pile. A twisted grin found its way onto his face and he turned to the dumb looking man to his left and said, "Go inform the boss that the kid is here." As the subordinate made to leave, the man tossed his binoculars aside and turned to another man behind him. "Should we move in?"

The bandana man, fidgeting with the tangled bandages around his feet, replied, "Not yet. Wait till the others are gone."

The first man gave a cold, mocking chuckled. It was clear to him that he was in the company of a weakling. Who could get taken out so easily by one puny kid?

* * *

"I really want a pair of binoculars," Luffy said as he dug through the pile.

"I'm sure there's one here somewhere," Sabo said.

Luffy nodded and continued rummaging through the trash again. They wandered around, looking for more useful tools. Robin and Ace weren't with them as they had agreed to split into groups to scout for supplies. Soon enough, Sabo lost track of his little brother.

"Luffy! Where are you?" Sabo called out. He'd just found the item Luffy was looking for. There was no answer from the little rubber boy. Sabo called his name again, but stopped with he noticed the large shadow looming over him.

"Finally, we have you all alone."

Sabo swiveled around to the sound of the voice and found a group of large men slowly inching closer to him with knives and ropes. _Porchemy's crew…_

"What do you want!?" Sabo shouted at them, clutching his staff in front of him. "I'm not giving you Robin!"

"Who said she's the one we're after?" The bulky man smirked.

* * *

"Uhhh… Ace?"

Robin was on her knees digging through the garbage when she realized Ace wasn't doing the same. It seemed to her that he was quite distracted with something else as he stood there turning his head around suspiciously.

"Yeah?" He replied absentmindedly, unaware of her observing eyes.

She shifted to sit with her elbows propped up on her knees and her chin resting on her hand. Tapping her index finger on her cheek, she watched Ace for a few moments. He was still too preoccupied to notice her gaze. Robin sighed. And finally she said, "You know. I finally have people who accept me. The last thing I ever want is to be a burden to them."

Ace swiveled his head at the statement. "You're not a burden," he stated. And he didn't want her to feel as if she was.

"You sure? Because it definitely feels like I am." Robin raised her eyebrows at him, an indication at his current behavior.

Ace sat down next to her. "Your not a burden," he repeated. "I just… I want to be a good brother…"

With widen eyes, Robin gaped at Ace, who now looked more or less embarrassed or just really uncomfortable. Out of no where, she started laughing which made the 10 year old huff in anger. He wished he never said anything. Ace was never one open up about his feelings, so it was a revelation that he could muster up a statement like that. It just didn't sound like the Ace she knew.

"Okay! Stop laughing!" Ace yelled at her. "Ugh! What? Is that so bad?!"

"No, no. It not bad at all." Robin said when she stopped giggling. "It's just… You _are_ a good brother, Ace," she said looking directly at him. The firmness in her statement made Ace let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Maybe he hadn't thought he was good at being a big brother, seeing as Sabo was always so much better at it.

"But, I don't want you guys going out of your way all the time just for me." Robin stated. "I know you want me to be safe. But isn't the reason you let me train with you guys was so I could protect myself?"

"You're right…" Ace sighed.

Robin smiled. "C'mon lets finish up here."

They were moving through junk piles again when they found Luffy with his head stuck in a hole. The little boy was struggling to pull his head out, but had only managed to stretch his rubber neck with no progress of getting unstuck. Ace shook his head sighing while Robin merely giggled at the sight before helping the poor rubber boy. Ace tugged at Luffy's legs while Robin pushed the boy's lead through the hole on the other side. Luffy's head pulled right out with a pop and ricocheted towards Ace, knocking the 10 year old backwards into the ground.

"How did you get stuck?!" Ace questioned as he pushed his brother away and dusted himself off.

"I don't really remember," Luffy said.

"Well, as long as you're okay." Robin said. "By the way, where's Sabo? Weren't you suppose to follow him?"

Ace could tell from Luffy's expression, that the little boy simply got distracted and went his own way. _Typical_ , Ace thought.

Before another comment could be made, they heard a loud bang and a chorus of shouting. It sounded like a fight was breaking loose.

"Isn't that coming from the direction Sabo and Luffy went earlier?" Robin asked.

Without another moment to spare, Ace took off towards the sounds with Luffy and Robin following close behind.

* * *

Sabo was getting weary. Usually, Ace and Luffy would be around to back him up, but not this time. He was all alone and there were just so many of them. Another man made a grab for Sabo, but the blonde jumped high in the air and wacked his staff against the man's temple. As soon as he landed, he was forced to duck from a swinging club. But Sabo managed to knock the guy down with a strike at the shins before running again.

Sabo panted. They were closing in like a pack of wolves hunting a lone animal. The thugs encircled Sabo, steadily watching him, daring him to run again. Then, as if right on cue, a large barrel tumbled down the hillside and broke through the barricade of thugs before breaking apart in front of Sabo.

"Ace! Luffy!" Sabo smiled at his brothers' miraculous timing before asking, "Where's Robin?"

Ace made a general nod towards the top of the hill. Who else would of pushed the barrel down?

Sabo waved to the tiny cloak figure at the top of the hill and the figure waved back. Sabo was okay, to her relief, but the enemy still surrounded them. Robin guessed this was an opportunity as good as any other to prove herself. She crossed her arms over her chest and began.

* * *

A/N: How was that? I wanted Robin to meet Makino, but I didn't want to extend that section too much. Don't know why, just a on the spur of the moment kind of decision I guess. This is a kind of a lead-in chapter, so the next one will probably be more action packed. Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7: Irreplaceable Siblings

**A/N: Hi everyone! I meant to upload this a few days ago... but i was having a lot of trouble with the story submit page on my laptop. I finally got hold of a friend's computer and it finally worked! Sooo yay! And just a heads up, start here, it's going to get more or less canon and you'll soon see why. After this chapter I'm probably going to go back to working on my other stories so we'll see when I'll write the next one. ENJOY!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

Chapter 7: Irreplaceable Siblings

Maybe it was the training. Maybe it was because she was fighting to save someone she loved. Or maybe she had something to prove. Whatever the reason was, Robin had never been able to summon so many phantom hands at once.

She'd been able to grab hold of about half the crew standing behind Sabo, keeping them from advancing towards her brothers. Thankful for the help, the boys didn't hesitate after that. If there's going to be a fight, then they were going in together. Sabo and Ace began fending off the other, more mobile, crewmen. They ran around, chasing and being chased. Dust flew every where with all the pandemonium. Luffy jabbed and punched the restrained men with Robin's limbs making them easy targets.

At first, Robin didn't move, not knowing how long her arms could hold out for. It was hard to concentrate, having to be conscious of so many. Her phantom limbs were coming out of chests and backs, tugging hair, wrapping around necks, and confining arms and legs. She felt the strain from the men struggling against her hold and it took her some time before she could sense which arm was coming out of who and grabbing what. But after a few minutes, she started to get the hang of it. Taking a deep breath she tried something. Her phantom arms bent and she could hear cracks and loud groaning. Sabo observed how Robin's arms had twisted some guys backwards, their spines awkwardly folding in ways that made Sabo wince. Though, it wasn't quite far enough to actually break their backs. Misaligned, perhaps.

Robin squinted. It was getting hard to see what was going on down there. She didn't know who was where and found it harder to attack with all the dust floating around. She felt the strain again and knew her arms were about to give way. She wanted to move down there, but thought it'd be too difficult to keep her hold. Still, she needed a better view.

She considered her options and didn't notice the presence creeping in. Then something grabbed hold of her. Robin fought to get away, but it was too late. There was a clack and a clang, and Robin felt all the energy drain out of her. "My… my brothers…" She felt woozy and could barely keep consciousness as large arms picked her up and carried her away.

* * *

An array of pink petals materialized and glided to the ground. All the arms had dissolved and the thugs were back with full force. With each person the boys defeated, two would appear and attack. It seemed they were out numbered. Not to mention that these were Bluejam's more lethal men, unlike the usual riffraff he sends. Still, the boys kept at it. And it almost seemed like they might get the upper hand again, when a loud gun shot halted everything. After a pause, the crewmen backed away from the boys and lowered their weapons, letting a group of town soldiers through.

"Wha…" Sabo's eyes widened when he saw who was leading the soldiers. It was the man on the left, striding in haughtily like he owned the place. And around him, hung a great air of arrogance and self-importance. Stopping in front of them, the man stroke his mustache in the way snobby people typically do when they want to look sophisticated. He adjusted his fancy one-eye glass, scanning over the dusty trio of boys. Then he scrunched his face and wrinkled his nose as if he'd just got whiff of some terrible odor.

"You just can't hire good help these days," the man sighed. "It's a good thing I'm smart enough to have a backup plan." The scrutiny of his gaze fell on Sabo. "Hello, son." His tongue hissed as if acknowledging the product of his own blood gave him great displeasure.

"Father," Sabo stated, his voice devoid of any feeling.

"And these must be the delinquents who forced my boy to run away." Sabo's father casted a glance over to Ace and Luffy, noting with disgust, the dirt on their cheeks and the scratches on their knees and elbows.

"They didn't force me to do anything," Sabo argued. "I left on my own – " *SLAP*

Sabo hit the ground. Removing a handkerchief from the chest pocket of his fancy suit, Sabo's father wiped his hand of the bit of blood that belonged to his son.

"Sabo!" Ace and Luffy yelled. Ace gritted his teeth. He pounced forward, but a great force hit his head and forced him down. Ace struggled against the heavy weight of the large boot crushing his skull against the dirt, but to no avail. Luffy prang forth as well but a bat knocked him to the side, and another man grabbed him and restrained his flailing rubber arms.

"Let them go!" Sabo yelled, picking himself up and wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.

"Maybe if you were a little more compliant and agree to come home."

"No. You can't threaten me to go back. I'm not afraid of you. And neither are Ace and Luffy."

Sabo's father scoffed. "I'm not sure you understand the situation at hand here, son."

Sabo's father signaled to the soldiers at his side. Two men stepped out and revealed the thing they've been hiding behind them. A body was thrown forward and landed on the ground in front of Sabo.

"Robin!" Sabo rushed to her side and turned her over. He lifted her head up and dusted the dirt off her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered between open and close, as if she couldn't quite stay awake. Ace and Luffy now squirmed harder in their restraints, desperately trying to get to Sabo and Robin. "What did you do to her?! Why is she like this?!" Sabo shouted at his father.

"Sa…Sabo?" Robin could barely make out the blur that was Sabo's angry face, but she recognize his voice. She was so drained she could barely speak. The only movement she could muster was a small lift of her hands as she tried to hold onto her brother. The chains around her wrists jangled lightly. Sabo looked at the cuffs and he moved to hold her hand. He gave her fingers a tight squeeze to let her know he was really there.

"Sea prism stone. It can neutralize the power of any devil fruit user. Government standard of course," Sabo's father explained. "Not easy to get. But when you have the money, anything is procurable." Then he unfolded a wrinkly piece of paper and lifted it up for his son to see. "I have to say, 79,000,000 beli is a bit much for a mere 8 year old. If the government couldn't even handle a little thing like that, then what is the world coming to?"

Sabo's body began to shake. His father smirked. "Still, how horrible would the public find it that a demon child would come to a nice kingdom like ours and wreak havoc by infecting the innocent minds of our young children? It does make a nice story for the papers. Don't you think son? After we give her over to the marines, of course."

"Why are you doing this?" Sabo's eyes began to tear. He was seething with rage. But still, he was fearful.

"Because I need you to understand that you can't just run around and do whatever you want. You belong to me. And if my offspring decides to have a will of their own, there will be consequences."

Sabo looked straight into his father's cold, cruel eyes and knew he had lost. "But I am not without some mercy," Sabo's father began, reveling the look of desperation on his son's face. It was the way an untamed beast looks when it realizes it's caught in a cage. "Maybe I don't have to report to the world government about the demon who stole my boy away from his loving family. And these nice soldiers here may be convinced to overlook the fact that there's a highly dangerous criminal in our midst. And to be generous, I might even spare these two boys from the large debt they owe to that Bluejam pirate. From what I heard, the brutal man can't wait to get his hands on them. Just as long as you come home without any fuss and do exactly as I say for now on."

"Don't listen to him, Sabo!" Ace yelled.

"Yeah! Don't go with him! You're our brother, you belong with us!" Luffy pleaded.

"Shut them up," Sabo's father ordered. A man kicked dirt into Ace's face, causing him to cough uncontrollably. Then they muffled out Luffy's protests by stuffing a bundled up cloth into his mouth.

Sabo looked at brothers and then down at Robin. Her breathing had gotten heavy, and though she was trying her best to hold onto Sabo, her grip was slowly loosening as her strength kept diminishing. She felt Sabo's teardrops on her arm, cold and wet. Robin wanted to protest. She wanted to tell Sabo not to worry about her, to stop him from going with his dad. She remembered all that Sabo had told her about his family and knew he would be miserable if he went back. But she couldn't say anything.

"I'm going to save you, Robin. You, Ace, and Luffy, " she heard him whisper in her ear.

No, she thought. It wasn't suppose to happen this way. She was suppose to be strong enough! She wasn't suppose to need saving anymore! Sabo's hand let go of hers. Robin's heart was clenching. She was losing him. Sabo laid her down on the ground gently and walked over to stand by his father. His head hung in defeat.

"I'll take your deal," he said to his father. "But please, don't harm Robin, Ace, and Luffy… They are my irreplaceable siblings." The words were difficult to get out and Sabo had to pulled his top hat over his face to hide the tears that were spilling.

"Now that's a good boy." Sabo's father nodded and they began marching back to the city gates.

All Robin could make out was the blurry, sideways view of Sabo's small figure walking away from her. His shape became smaller and smaller until him, his father, and the group of soldiers disappeared behind the mounds of garbage. A single tear ran down the side of her face and dripped onto the sand. The next thing she knew, she was being picked up again by a man who said, "Let's take them back to the boss."

* * *

"Don't forget that those delinquents' safety rests in my hands," Sabo's father whispered in his son's ear.

It had been a difficult half-hour at the police station with Sabo refusing to cast the blame onto his so-called siblings. Sabo's father grumbled. "How can I have such a stupid child for a son…" He kicked his son's chair back, knocking Sabo over. Walking up to the police chief, he dropped a load of cash and said, "I trust that you'll take care of everything?"

With eyes that turned to money signs, the police chief nodded his head vigorously and pocketed the money. Sabo's father turned and kicked his son towards the door with his heel. "Let's go. Your mother is waiting."

* * *

"BWAHHAHAHA!" Bluejam laughed loudly. Ace made a face. He thought the pirate captain's laugh was as ugly as the gaps between his teeth. "You really think that rich kid would want to stay here with you instead of a big house in the city?" he sneered.

"Sabo hates his family!" Luffy yelled.

"Oh please! That kid is living the life up there! To him, you're all just trash."

"Sabo isn't like that," Ace argued. "He doesn't look down on people."

"Think about it kid. He has all the money he could dream of, all the best food he could eat, and a big, comfy house to sleep in. He's probably way happier living there then here."

Robin wanted to tell the ugly pirate captain that it wasn't true. That Sabo hated it there, but she could barely move, let only speak. All she could do was listen to the conversation going on in front of her. Her body was placed leaning against a pillar, her wrists still chained together by the sea prism cuffs. She had been able to regain enough consciousness to steady her vision and found two large men on either sides of her, probably acting as a barrier to keep Ace and Luffy from taking her and running off. She looked at Ace's face and saw a flash of doubt. _Was he really considering that Sabo might be happier without us? Don't be fooled by this guy, Ace. Please, remember the vow we all made_ , Robin pleaded in her head.

Bluejam started speaking again. "I've got a job for you," he said.

Ace listened to the proposition and was ready to reject it. That was until Bluejam cut in again. "Do this job for me, and I'll release all of you. Don't, and the little girl gets dropped in the ocean. And as I recall, devil fruit users can't swim."

Ace grit his teeth and clenched his fist until they turned red. How many times were they going to be threaten today? He wanted to punch Bluejam in the face, but he knew they were at a disadvantage. He had to save at least one of his siblings. So as hard as it was, Ace bit his tongue and agreed to Bluejam's deal.

Grinning at his small victory, Bluejam got out of his chair and began leading the boys outside to show them what to do. As the men followed their captain one after the other, Ace noticed the key dangling from one of the larger, dumber looking thugs standing not too far from Robin. He leaned over and whispered something into Luffy's ear. The rubber boy looked towards the direction Ace had pointed out. Following his big brother's instructions with surprising accuracy and understanding, Luffy slowed his pace until he was behind all the crewmen. He stretched one of his rubber arms out, steadily reaching for the key dangling on the back of the belt on the large man. It was as if all his precision training with Robin and Sabo was for this very moment. And for once, Luffy executed his brother's plan perfectly. Once he lifted the key, his arm snapped back into his shoulder and he handed the key to Ace. Then waiting for the right moment, just before they passed through the door, Ace kicked the key towards Robin when nobody was looking. He wasn't sure how close it got, having already exited the shack.

The key stopped in front of Robin's foot. All she had to do was lean forward and grab it. But she didn't want to make any noise in case her guards were to look over and see the key before she could get to it. In her peripherals, she saw the guards yawning, bored with guarding a prisoner they believed have zero chance of escaping. Robin still felt weak. There was no way she could muster enough strength to slowly inch her hand over to the key. She'd have to do this fast. So with all the strength she could muster in one motion, she twisted and tossed her body forward, throwing her hands out in front of her. She caught the key with her teeth and twisted it into the keyhole of her cuffs with her mouth. By this time the guards became alert and were hurdling themselves at her.

But they were too late. The cuffs unlocked and fell from her wrists. Phantom limbs sprang forth, locking them in a hold and covering their mouths so they couldn't shout for backup. Then two more limbs grew out of the wall, each grabbing an abandoned club that lay on the ground. Two thuds to the head and the guards were left unconscious.

Robin tiptoed over the unconscious bodies to the exit and peeked outside. Nobody was there. They must have lead Luffy and Ace somewhere else. Robin knew she couldn't go after them, since Bluejam would definitely turn on her brothers if one of the crew saw she had escaped. She'd probably end up right where she'd started. Perhaps, once Ace and Luffy accomplishes Bluejam's task, they'd be able to escape when they see that she's no longer a hostage that could be used to threatened them with. There was only one thing for Robin to do. She had to find Sabo and bring him back.

* * *

It was a somber atmosphere, despite that the room was lit and the bathroom tiles were polished so finely that it reflected the shining elegance of wealthy living. The second Sabo had arrived home, he was sent upstairs for a bath. "And don't come out until you've scrubbed the putrid stench of poverty off," his mother told him. Sabo sat in the tub and stared into the glossy, delicate bubbles which were high enough to cover up to his chin. He imagined seeing his beloved siblings looking back at him, their faces stretched and swirly on the rotund surface of translucent film. One of the bubbles floated up and popped. Sabo sat completely still. It wasn't clear how much time had passed since his bath began, but it was long enough for the water to have turned from searing hot to lukewarm.

He was suppose to be scrubbing, he remembered. There was so much grime and dirt from months of living in the forest. He picked up the loofah and began washing his face. _Father will be upset if I didn't get clean_. And Sabo didn't want to test the man who held all the power to destroy the only people he cared for. _I have to protect them_ , Sabo reminded himself. _Even if I have to be unhappy for the rest of my life._

* * *

"Where did the brat go?!" Bluejam yelled. Nobody answered. Nobody knew. They came back to the shack and found the guards knocked out and the cuffs empty of their little hostage. "Did those brats help her escape?!"

"They couldn't of," someone answered. "If that were the case, they would have tried running away during the job today."

"Either way, she escaped right under your noses!"

"You want us to look for her boss?"

"Ugh… Don't bother. As long as those boys show up tomorrow to finish the job, we don't have to worry about anything."

"And if they don't?"

"Then we'll know they had something to do with her escaping, and we'll have a reason to kill them. Not that they'll be alive much longer anyway." Bluejam grinned a wicked grin.

* * *

By the time Luffy and Ace had arrived back at the treehouse, it was already dark. They hadn't been allowed into the shack to see Robin as they hadn't finished setting up the big boxes Bluejam wanted. So Ace didn't know if Robin had been able to escape or not. Looking around, he found no evidence that Robin had come back to the treehouse at all. Perhaps the key never made it to her, Ace thought. It meant that him and Luffy had to go back tomorrow. They'd get her out no matter what.

Luffy had been quiet the entire way back. Dejected from the loss that was weighing on his little heart, Luffy set up his sleeping mat and blanket without a word. The two brothers laid in their mats, the blanket covering their bodies. Ace stared up at the dark wooden ceiling. Luffy had turned his body away, hiding his face with his back facing Ace.

"Do you think Sabo will come back?" Luffy whispered.

"If he's unhappy, then he'll come to us," Ace said.

"What about Robin?"

"We'll get her back, Luffy. Robin will be okay. She's gotten a lot tougher."

Ace tried his best to assure both Luffy and himself that everything will turn out okay. His assurances seemed to satisfy Luffy, who had stopped asking question and was lulled into a deep slumber after a few minutes. But Ace couldn't shut his brain off. His eyes remained wide open as he stared into the dark and wondered what to do. He kept glancing at the net hanging on the nail atop the wall. It held the four red cups they had used to form the bond of their brotherhood.

 _This bond is forever,_ Ace told himself. _No matter what_.

* * *

Robin was determined find Sabo's old home. She'd seen a picture of it once, having discovered the photograph stuck between the pages of one of Sabo's books. "I forgot that was even there," he had said when she asked him about it. "You can shred it. It's not like I'm ever going back," he told her.

 _Oh, how wrong you were_ , Robin thought sadly as she skulked the narrow streets. She had made it into the city successfully. Robin was always good at blending into the background, with her naturally quiet disposition. And it was even easier to go unnoticed as the night provided enough dark to cover her, along with her dark cloak. She hadn't used the city gates, afraid that town soldiers would be nearby. Instead, she scaled the stone wall that surrounded the city, sprouting arms along to help her up. The rest was easy. She crept from one dark corner to the other, street after street. And if she had to get a better view of which direction to go, she'd simply scale up another building and look over the many routes until she picked the best.

It had taken her a couple hours, but Robin finally made it to High Town. The streets were completely deserted. Every home was a large mansion. It wasn't quite late enough for everyone to be in bed, so Robin made sure to keep close to the shadows, afraid of being spotted by anyone who might take a glance outside. Street after street she searched, hoping to find a mansion that resembled the one she remembered seeing in the photograph.

 _I can't give up,_ Robin told herself. She had scouted a dozen neighborhoods. "I have to find Sabo."

* * *

Sabo opened the large window in his bedroom and stood stock still in front of it. The last time he'd been here, he had escaped through this very window to freedom. That was before he had even met Ace and Luffy. Never did he think he'd be standing here again, trapped by these same four walls. And yet, he could just as easily run away as he'd done last time. The night breeze blew in, carrying with it a reminder of the independence he possessed only yesterday. Not six hours had gone by, and Sabo could sense the frustration creeping in. He missed his siblings and he missed his freedom. But freedom wasn't an option now. Not when there's so much at stake.

"Hehehe." A snicker came from the door.

Snelly. Sabo really wasn't in the mood to butt heads with his parent's idea of a backup son. "What do you want?" Sabo said coldly.

"Nothing. Just checking up on my competition." Snelly skipped over to Sabo and looked him up and down, as if he were judging a prized cow. "I don't see why Mother and Father bothered bringing you back. It's not like you're worth much. And especially not when they have me, the perfect son."

Sabo balled his hands into fists. _Don't punch him. Don't punch him. If I punch him, then this would all be for nothing._

"Look at those ugly scratches on your knees and hands. Not to mention that dumb band aid on your nose. You're like an old rag doll, dirty and worn out with some poorly done patch work." Snelly sneered. Then he jumped onto Sabo's bed, sat down and kicked his feet up, rubbing his shoe print over Sabo's sheets.

"Look, I don't even want to be here. So if you want to replace me then go ahead. Be the new me and inherit this place. I'm only here because I want to save my siblings." Sabo said.

Snelly smirked. He wanted to be sure that the true heir wasn't going to stand in his way of getting everything, and he got it. Snelly thought to just leave with his victory, but not without really sticking it to his delinquent step-brother. "You know," he began. "You should be grateful that father had brought you back when he did. Or else you'd be burning with the rest of the trash when they light the Gray Terminal on fire."

"What?" Sabo expression was a mix of alarm and confusion.

"You heard me." Snelly was beaming now. "Apparently a celestial dragon is schedule to visit Goa Kingdom in a few days. So, as to purify the kingdom, the Mayor has issued the disposal of all the trash."

Sabo couldn't control himself now. He grabbed onto Snelly's collar and yanked the boy up. "But there's people living in the Gray Terminal! All their homes will be gone!"

"Didn't you hear me?" Snelly said, unfazed by Sabo's sudden force. He'd wanted a reaction out of his step-brother, and he got one. "I said they're burning ALL the trash. As in, the lowlifes and dead beats."

Sabo couldn't believe it. His grip on the collar released from the shock and Snelly dropped to the floor. When Snelly got up, he realized that his collar was now wrinkled and there was a small tear in the fabric. The boy made a face.

"How dare you ruin the new shirt mother just bought me?!" He pointed at Sabo with an accusing finger. But Sabo wasn't listening. Out of anger, Snelly formed a fist and was ready to punch Sabo. He lifted his hand, ready to delve out the blow, when suddenly he couldn't move. Something had caught his arm mid-air. He was about to shout, when he felt skin cover over his mouth.

"Don't you dare hurt my brother!" The voice was high-pitch and undoubtedly a girl's.

Snapped out of his trance, Sabo looked and found Robin standing on his window sill, the ends of her dark cloak flapping in the wind. Then he turned to Snelly, and watched as Robin's phantom limbs forced Snelly's arms to his sides and held his feet together. It was obvious that Snelly had never met a devil fruit user before, as the look of fear and shock was evident in his eyes. The boy squirmed and cried for help, but his noises where muffled by the phantom hand Robin had clasped tightly over his mouth. Another phantom arm grew above Snelly's head and formed into a fist. It began banging away against the top of Snelly's skull. Sabo couldn't believe what was happening. Robin was actually here. And didn't that mean…

"Sabo! Are you okay?" Robin jumped off the window sill and ran to hug her brother. She finally found him.

"I'm fine." Sabo replied with a smile on his face as he hugged her back. "How did you escape?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I've found you," Robin said. "Now let's you out of here."

An even bigger smile broke out on Sabo's face. But he didn't move. "And where's Ace and Luffy?"

"Bluejam recruited them to help set up something in the Gray Terminal. I don't know what, but they were using me to threaten them. At least until I escaped."

"So they're still in the Gray Terminal?"

"I'm not sure, but I would believe so. I couldn't track them down without the risk of getting caught again."

Sabo looked anxious to Robin great confusion. He rushed to his bed. Bending down, he grabbed something from underneath.

"You still have your metal staff!" Robin said with surprise.

"It's a back up," Sabo said as he put on his top hat and jacket. "C'mon. There's no time to lose. Ace and Luffy might be in danger."

Sabo jumped out his bedroom window once more with Robin following close behind him. She was still confused but figured it was best to just follow and ask questions later. When the two had disappeared into the night, the arms which restrained Snelly evaporated. The snooty boy got up and looked out the window for signs of where they went. After a moment he shrugged.

"It's not my problem if he dies out there."

* * *

Robin and Sabo ran all the way to the middle of High Town. Having climbed to the top roof of a building, they overlooked the town plaza with it's dimly lit street lamps and rows of empty shops. Shoulders tense and gripping his staff, Sabo sat gazing at the vacant plaza. His eyebrows creased as he thought. Will there really be a fire tomorrow or was Snelly just trying to mess with me? Then he told Robin all that he'd heard.

"THEY'RE GOING TO DO WHAT?!" Robin couldn't believe what she just heard. She looked into Sabo's face for a sign that it wasn't true, but her brother looked so serious. Her body started shaking. Not again, she thought. Suddenly, images of Ohara, memories that had been suppressed for months, came flooding back. Her vision blurred and her head throbbed. It was like a great dam, which had held back all the pain and memories, had burst open in her brain. Robin grabbed her head and fell to the floor. Once again, she was seeing the scorching flames, running wild over houses. The acrid stench of cooking flesh burned in the recesses of her memory. Screams echoed in her ears, and she covered them, praying for the sounds to stop. She felt it all again at full force.

"Robin! Robin, are you okay?!" Out of his thoughts, Sabo saw Robin lying on the cold rooftop, trembling all over. Grabbing her shoulders, he positioned her so her body sat upright, letting her lean against him. She was still holding her head, now tucked between her knees. "It's okay," he kept whispering to her and patting her back. She was crying.

Robin kept trying to focus on Sabo's voice. "I'm okay," Robin kept saying in between sobs. Eventually, everything subsided. Her ear's stopped ringing and the throbbing pain dulled. She lifted her head and breathed deeply. "I'm okay." Her eyes were still watery.

"I'm sorry, Robin. I forgot your home had burnt down."

"No. The island I was born on burned. My home is still standing," Robin said. Her hands were still shaking but her voice was steady and resolute. "And I'm not going to let what happened to the island, happen here."

Sabo couldn't help it. He chuckled. It never ceases to amaze him how easily Robin can alter her feelings. No matter how sad or weak she seemed in one moment, Robin always found a way to compose herself. "You'd think I would have gotten used to how strong you've gotten," he told her.

"Well, I did train with the strongest people around." Robin beamed.

Sabo looked across the horizon. "It'll be morning soon."

"So we only have a day to stop the fire from happening."

"You know, I can't be sure that there is going to be a fire. What if Snelly was lying?"

"How will we know?"

"I was thinking… Maybe I should stay in High Town for the morning and watch how the people act. If there's really going to be a fire, then it'll be obvious from everyone's behavior."

"When you say 'I should stay', you mean _we_ right?"

"No. It's too dangerous for you. It's against the law for anybody not of noble blood to be in this part of the kingdom. Not to mention you'll be captured and given to the marines for sure if they find you."

"But I just got you back, Sabo! I can't lose you again! What about Ace and Luffy?!"

"You go find them and tell them to get out of the Gray Terminal. Just in case the fire does happen."

"But!"

"No buts!"

Robin bit her lip. "Fine. I'll go. But I'm not leaving you behind and I'm sure Ace and Luffy wouldn't leave without you either."

"Gosh, you've become stubborn. When did you get to be so much like Ace?" Sabo shook his head with a grin.

"Let's agree to meet right outside the city gates, okay?" Robin said.

"Fine. Once I know what we're dealing with, I'll meet you." Sabo said. "Just make sure our brothers are okay."

Robin nodded. With one last hug and a promise to see each other soon, Robin jumped off the roof and disappeared just before the morning sun revealed itself. Sabo waited and watched until the shops started opening and people trickled into the streets.

 _Okay High Town. Prove to me you're something good._

* * *

A/N: There you have it! :D Hope this was up to your expectations


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